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History  of  Fall  River 
massachusetts 


COMPILED   FOR   THE 

COTTON     CENTENNIAL 

BY  Henry  M.-Fenner 
I- 
under  the  direction  of  the 

Historical  Committee 

OF  the  Merchants  Association 


EDWARD    S.    ADAMS,   Chairman 

GEORGE  H.  EDDY  LEONTINE   LINCOLN 

benjamin   BUFFINTON  PHILIP  D.  BORDEN 

WILLIAM   T.  henry  JOHN  J.   McDONOUGH 


Fall  River  Merchants  Association 
1911 


Copyright,  1911, 

By  Merchants  Association. 

Published  May,  1911. 


T}ie  Mimrue  Press,  Fall  River,  Massachusetts. 


The  observance  of  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the 
beginning  of  cotton  manufacturing  in  Fall  River  has  seemed 
to  the  Merchants  Association  a  fitting  occasion  for  the  publica- 
tion of  a  concise  history  of  the  community.  Its  historical 
committee  has  therefore  prepared  the  pages  which  follow,  in 
the  hope  of  making  the  history  of  the  city  better  known  by  its 
citizens  and  the  thousands  of  visitors  within  its  gates,  as  well 
as  by  many  others  to  whom  copies  may  be  sent  by  friends. 

The  book  has  been  prepared  and  published  in  less  than 
two  months,  and  has  of  necessity  been  made  brief.  A  strong 
effort  has,  however,  been  made  to  secure  accuracy,  and  to 
include  all  the  principal  facts  in  connection  with  the  city's 
development.  The  original  spelling  of  names  has  been  retained 
in  many  cases,  and  incidents  of  interest  have  in  some  instances 
been  interwoven. 

The  committee  hopes  that  its  work  may  be  the  basis  of  a 
more  extensive  history  of  Fall  River.  The  story  of  its  growth 
is  an  inspiration  to  greater  things,  and  deserves  to  be  more 
generally  known. 


FALL  RIVER,  in  population  the  third  city  of  the  Common- 
wealth of  Massachusetts,  situated  in  the  southeasterly- 
section  of  the  state,  is  in  North  Latitude  41"  -42'-04"+ 
and  W.  Longitude  71°  -  09' -  20" +.  The  distance  in  a  direct 
line  from  the  State  House  in  Boston  to  the  City  Hall  in  Fall 
River  being  45.58  miles. 

The  city  is  located  on  the  easterly  shore  of  Mount  Hope 
Bay  and  Taunton  River,  bounded  northerly  by  Freetown, 
easterly  by  Freetown,  Dartmouth  and  Westport,  southerly  by 
Dartmouth,  Westport  and  Tiverton,  R.  I.,  westerly  by  Tiver- 
ton, R.  I.  and  the  channel  of  Mount  Hope  Bay  and  Taunton 
River.  Within  these  limits  there  is  included  an  area  of  nearly 
41  square  miles,  consisting  of  approximately  33.94  miles  of 
land,  4.43  miles  of  fresh  water  and  2.5  miles  of  salt  water. 
Its  extreme  length  approximates  11  miles  and  its  width  71 
miles.  Its  shape  is  very  irregular  and  somewhat  peculiar, 
as  seen  in  the  illustration. 

A  study  of  the  drawing  will  explain  the  cause  of  the 
long  continued  controversy  as  to  the  location  of  the  "centre 
of  Fall  River." 

From  the  water  front  the  rise  is,  as  a  rule,  abrupt.  South 
Main  street  in  front  of  City  Hall  (less  than  one-half  mile  from 
the  shore)  is  at  an  elevation  119  feet  above  mean  high  water 
in  Taunton  River.  Townsend  Hill  (so-called)  on  the  easterly 
side  of  South  Main  Street  near  the  Rhode  Island  Line,  (less 
than  three-fourths  of  a  mile  from  the  shore)  has  an  elevation 
of  272  feet.  Highland  Avenue  at  its  junction  with  New 
Boston  Road  is  at  an  elevation  of  254  feet. 

The  highest  point  within  the  city  limits  is  Copicut  Hill, 
about  5  miles  northeasterly  from  City  Hall,  where  an  elevation 
of  355  feet  is  reached. 

The  city's  water  supply.  North  WatuppaPond,  having  an 
area  of  2.82  square  miles  and  an  extreme  depth  of  27  feet,  is 
one  of  the  best  in  the  State,  judged  both  as  to  quantity  and 
quality.     The  water  shed  of  the  pond  (including  the  area  of 


the  pond  itself)  is  11.444  square  miles.  Its  capacity  at  full 
pond  is  7,199.907,200  Gallons.  At  5  feet  below  full  pond  (a 
depth  approximated  but  once  since  the  installation  of  the 
water  works)  its  capacity  is  4,488,189,500  Gallons.  From 
these  figures  it  would  appear  that  danger  of  a  water  famine 
is  very  remote. 


SWANSEA 


FREETOWN 


The  sewerage  of  the  city  is,  as  a  whole,  on  the  '  'Combined 
System,"  that  is,  the  sewers  are  planned  to  care  for  storm 
water  as  well  as  for  domestic  sewage.     There  are,  howev^er, 


limited  areas  in  which  separate  systems  are  maintained,  the 
object  being  to  furnish  as  much  of  the  storm  water  as  is 
possible  for  use  by  the  mills  along  Quequechan  River. 

Underlying  much  of  the  city  are  granite  ledges  from 
which  material  for  construction  of  buildings,  making  of  street 
curbing,  paving,  etc.,  is  obtained.  While  this  is  a  valuable 
asset  for  the  city,  it  is  not  an  unmixed  blessing,  as  this  same 
granite  accounts  for  what,  to  some,  appears  to  be  an  unreason- 
able cost  of  sewers,  water  works,  and  other  lines  of  work  re- 
quiring the  building  of  underground  structures. 

The  city  has  one  natural  curiosity  of  considerable  interest, 
the  "Rolling  Rock"  on  County  street,  referred  to  in  old 
bounds  as  "The  Goose-nesting  Rock."  It  is  a  boulder  of 
coarse  conglomerate,  resting  on  a  ledge  of  granite,  and  show- 
ing that  it  was  brought  to  its  present  position  by  diluvial 
action.  It  was  so  finely  balanced  that  until  recent  years  it 
could  be  easily  moved  by  one  hand,  and  by  using  both  hands 
could  be  made  to  oscillate  two  or  three  inches  at  the  top.  It 
is  eight  feet  thick,  with  a  horizontal  circumference  of  58  feet. 
Its  estimated  weight  is  140  tons. 


Fall  River  to-day  is  a  beautifully  situated  city  of  approxi- 
mately 120,000  inhabitants.  It  is  a  busy,  prosperous  and 
growing  community,  which  in  half  a  century  has  risen, 
through  its  own  efforts  from  a  little  town  of  about  13,000 
people  to  its  present  prominence.  Its  citizens  are  justly 
proud  of  it  and  of  its  growth,  and,  inspired  by  what  they 
have  done,  look  forward  with  confidence  to  even  greater 
achievements. 

It  is  known  as  the  largest  cotton  manufacturing  center 
in  the  United  States,  and  its  more  than  100  mills,  containing 
nearly  4,000,000  spindles,  give  employment  to  35,000  persons. 
Its  factories  use  about  450,000  bales  of  cotton  a  year,  or  9,000 
a  week,  from  which  are  produced  more  than  a  thousand 
million  yards  of  cloth  in  a  year,  or  three  and  a  half  million 
yards  each  working  day.  Reduced  to  miles,  this  means  1900 
miles  of  cloth  a  day,  or  three  miles  a  minute. 

But  it  is  not  alone  of  the  (luantity  of  its  product  that  the 


city  boasts.  It  produces  many  medium  weight  goods  to  meet 
the  various  demands  of  the  market,  as  well  as  twills,  sateens 
and  curtains,  and  its  newer  mills  have  almost  exclusively 
been  designed  for  the  making  of  fine  goods,  and  more  and 
more  of  the  finest  fabrics  are  being  manufactured  each  year; 
also  fine  ginghams,  colored  yarns,  sewing  thread,  Marseilles 
quilts  and  cloths  with  finishes  of  linen  and  silk. 

It  has  bleacheries  and  print  works,  one  of  the  latter,  the 
Amei-ican  Printing  Company,  the  largest  in  the  United  States, 
with  an  extensive  and  increasing  export  trade.  It  has  plants 
for  the  manufacture  of  its  own  machinery,  plants  for  the 
utilization  of  the  waste  cotton  in  the  manufacture  of  rope, 
twine,  mops  and  "  comforters"  and  plants  for  the  making  of 
cotton  bags  and  narrow  fabrics.  It  has,  among  others,  the 
largest  hat  manufacturing  establishment  in  the  country,  and 
also  an  extensive  piano  factory. 

Though  in  recent  years  large  numbers  have  come  here 
from  foreign  lands,  the  best  of  order  is  maintained.  The 
newcomers  are  acquiring  homes  of  their  own  and  doing  their 
part  in  the  upbuilding  of  the  city. 

The  community  is  well  policed  and  well  lighted.  It  main- 
tains an  efficient  fire  department,  and  the  annual  loss  by  fire 
is  comparatively  small.  Its  schools  are  modern,  housed  in 
commodious,  beautiful  and  well  arranged  structures.  The 
system  is  supplemented  by  a  large  and  well  equipped  textile 
school.  It  has  a  public  library  of  86,000  volumes,  in  a  new 
and  centrally  located  building,  with  22,834  cardholders  and  an 
annual  circulation  of  more  than  200,000  volumes. 

It  has  parks  and  playgrounds  of  more  than  100  acres, 
situated  in  various  parts  of  the  city,  73  miles  of  sewers  and 
16h  miles  of  paved  streets. 

Its  situation  near  the  coast  gives  it  an  excellent  climate. 
Severe  storms  are  almost  unknown.  Its  winters  are  not 
severe,  and  its  summers  are  cool.  From  the  higher  parts  of 
the  city,  view^s  of  marked  beauty  are  obtainable  over  the 
adjoining  bay  and  rivers  and  across  the  farming  lands  on  the 
west  side  of  the  river,  and  on  clear  days  Providence  can  be 
seen  in  the  distance.  Many  of  the  sunsets  are  almost  unsur- 
passed. 


It  has  charming  residential  sections,  scores  of  churches, 
and  numerous  charitable  institutions,  housed  in  most  attrac- 
tive buildings,  of  which  the  Boys'  Club,  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association,  the  Women's  Union,  the  Union  and 
Ste.  Anne's  Hospitals,  the  Children's  Home,  the  St.  Joseph's 
and  St.  Vincent's  orphanages,  the  Home  for  Aged  People 
and  the  Bishop  Stang  Day  Nursery  are  examples. 

Many  of  its  stores  are  large,  and  well  arranged  and 
compare  favorably  with  those  in  other  cities.  Its  Merchants 
Association  has  a  large  and  active  membership,  and  has  done 
much  for  the  city. 

There  are  four  national  banks,  with  a  combined  capital 
of  $2,200,000  and  deposits  in  excess  of  $6,000,000,  a  trust 
company  with  deposits  of  more  than  $2,000,000,  four  savings 
banks  that  hold  nearly  $23,000,000  for  55,000  depositors, 
and  four  co-operative  banks,  whose  assets  are  in  excess 
of  $2,000,000. 

Four  daily  newspapers  are  published  here,  the  Evening 
News,  established  as  a  weekly  in  1845  and  as  a  daily  in  1859, 
the  Herald,  started  in  1872,  the  Globe,  in  1885  and  L'lnde- 
pendant,  printed  in  French,  and  founded  in  1885.  There  are 
also  two  weeklies,  issued  in  Portuguese,  called  As  Novidades 
and  0  Amigo  do  Poro. 

The  city  has  excellent  transportation  facilities,  both  by 
rail  and  water.  It  has  deep  water  to  its  wharves  and  regular 
lines  of  steamers  to  New  York,  Philadelphia  and  Providence, 
including  the  famous  Fall  River  Line,  whose  magnificent 
fleet  is  well  and  favorably  known  to  the  travelling  public. 

It  has  a  modern  street  railway  system,  with  suburban 
roads  to  Providence,  Taunton,  New  Bedford  and  Newport, 
and  excellent  train  and  electric  car  service  to  these  and  other 
cities. 

Its  assessed  valuation  in  1910  was  $92,488,520,  and  its 
tax  rate,  which  includes  all  charges,  except  in  the  case  of 
granolithic  sidewalks,  which  are  put  in  on  application  of 
abutting  owners,  was  $18.70  per  thousand. 


PURCHASE  AND  SETTLEMENT 

The  territory  included  in  the  city  of  Fall  River  was 
fornjerly  a  part  of  the  colony  of  Plymouth,  and  remained  so 
until  that  colony  was  united  with  Massachusetts  in  1692. 
Like  the  remainder  of  New  England,  it  was  inhabited  by 
Indian  tribes,  and,  until  after  King  Philip's  war  in  1676,  when 
the  spirit  of  the  Indians  in  this  section  was  finally  broken  and 
many  of  them  exterminated,  there  were  but  very  few,  if  any, 
white  settlers. 

The  coast  of  North  America  had  been  skirted  as  early  as 
1498,  six  years  after  the  discovery  by  Columbus,  by  Sebastian 
Cabot,  a  fact  on  which  the  English  based  their  title.  Much 
earlier,  however,  this  immediate  section  had  probably  been 
visited  by  the  Northmen,  whose  sagas  relate  that  in  1008  a 
party  led  by  Thorfinn  had  come  up  the  Sagkonate,  now 
Seaconnet  river  and  spent  the  winter  on  Mount  Hope  Bay, 
where  they  traded  with  the  natives.  Whether  they  placed 
the  inscriptions  on  the  rock  at  Dighton  is  a  question  which  in 
all  probability  will  never  be  satisfactorily  answered.  Another 
early  visitor  was  a  Florentine,  Joseph  Verrazzano,  who  was 
under  the  patronage  of  the  French  king,  Francis  I,  and  who, 
with  a  party  of  50  men,  in  the  ship  Dauphin,  is  said  to  have 
entered  Narragansett  Bay  in  1524  and  remained  for  15  days. 

The  natives  who  dwelt  in  this  vicinity  were  the  Pocassets, 
a  sub-tribe  of  the  Wampanoags,  and  a  part  of  the  great 
Algonquin  nation.  At  the  time  of  the  Plymouth  settlement, 
Massasoit,  the  father  of  King  Philip,  otherwise  known  as 
Metacomet,  was  sachem  of  the  Wampanoags,  and  Corbitant 
of  the  Pocassets.  Corbitant's  principal  place  of  residence 
was  at  Mattapoisett,  now  Gardner's  Neck,  in  Swansea.  He 
was  not  friendly  to  the  whites,  but  was  kept  in  check  by 
Massasoit,  and  on  his  death  in  1624  was  succeeded  by  his 
daughter,  Weetamoe,  who  was  drowned  in  1676  while  cross- 
ing the  Tehticut,  now  the  Taunton  river,  at  Slade's  Ferry. 
She  was  the  wife  of  Wamsutta,  an  elder  brother  of  Philip. 

Of  other  more  familiar  Indian  names,  Annawan  was  one 
of  Philip's  captains, Canonicus, the  chief  of  the  Narragansetts, 
who  dwelt  on  the  west  side  of  the  bay  which  bears  their  name, 


Montaup,  the  name  of  Mount  Hope,  Quequechan,  signifying 
"Falling  Water  ",  the  title  of  the  stream  which  flows  through 
the  center  of  the  present  city,  Quequeteant,  the  name  of  the 
neighborhood  adjoining  the  Quequechan,  Watuppa  the  name 
of  the  ponds  still  known  by  the  same  designation.  Sagkonate 
was  the  Indian  name  for  what  is  now  Little  Compton  and 
Sagamore  was  the  title  of  a  chief.  Tecumseh  was  the  head  of 
an  Indian  tribe  in  the  West. 

The  Wampanoags  appear  to  have  been  on  the  whole  a 
superior  race.  They  were  long  friendly  to  the  whites  and 
hospitable.  They  are  described  as  having  the  familiar  cinna- 
mon colored  skin,  long  black,  coarse  hair,  scanty  beard,  high 
cheek  bones,  small,  deep-set  eyes,  a  broad  nose,  protuberant 
lips  and  a  square,  depressed  forehead.  They  were  tall,  supple, 
graceful,  agile,  and  able,  it  is  said,  to  run  80  or  100  miles  a  day 
and  back  the  next,  but  they  were  unequal  to  continuous  labor. 
They  had  the  same  immobility  of  countenance  that  is  character- 
istic of  all  red  men,  and  seldom  wept  or  smiled.  The  deaf,  the 
blind  and  the  lame  were  seldom  seen;  these  were  too  burden- 
some to  the  others  to  be  allowed  to  live.  As  a  rule,  an  Indian 
had  but  one  wife.  The  women  did  the  drudgery,  while  the 
men  hunted  and  fished. 

Their  clothing  in  winter  consisted  of  skins  of  deer  or  other 
wild  animals;  in  summer,  when  less  was  required,  the  men  wore 
only  a  piece  of  deer  skin  about  their  waists.  Moccasins  were 
of  thin  deer  skin  or  moose  hide,  according  to  the  season.  Paint 
and  feathers  were  their  adornment,  combined  with  rings, 
bracelets  and  necklaces. 

Fish,  game,  nuts,  berries  and  roots,  were  their  principal 
food.  Meat  could  be  preserved  only  by  smoking,  as  they  had 
no  salt.  With  the  aid  of  but  a  single  tool,  a  hoe  made  of  a 
clamshell  or  bone  fastened  on  the  end  of  a  stick,  they  culti- 
vated the  soil  and  raised  Indian  corn,  squashes,  pumpkins, 
beans  and  a  kind  of  sunflower,  the  root  of  which  pleased  their 
taste.  Tobacco  was  also  cultivated  for  smoking.  The  potato 
was  unknown,  and  the  only  domestic  animal  was  the  dog. 
They  had  no  poultry. 

The  following  description  of  an  Indian  village  in  New  Eng- 
land at  this  time  is  taken  from  a  recent  work  on  King  Philip's 
war  by  Ellis  and  Morris: 


"Arranged  around  a  center  left  open  for  the  performance 
of  the  village  games  and  ceremonies,  were  the  wigwams,  con- 
structed of  saplings,  which,  set  firmly  in  the  ground  and  bent 
together,  were  fastened  at  the  top  and  covered  with  bark  or 
mats.  Some  were  cone-shaped,  holding  only  a  single  family, 
while  others,  resembling  a  covered  arbor,  varied  in  length  from 
20  to  100  feet. 

The  wigwams  were  pitched  closely  together,  and  the 
village  seldom  occupied  more  than  from  three  to  four  acres. 
Within  the  wigwams,  and  arranged  around  the  walls,  were 
the  woven  baskets  that  held  the  corn,  stone  or  earthen 
household  utensils,  the  pails  and  the  low  raised  bunks  covered 
with  boughs  and  skins.  In  the  center  blazed  the  fires,  which, 
either  for  the  purpose  of  cooking  or  for  warmth,  were  kept 
constantly  alight,  and  the  smoke  from  which  found  its  way 
skyward  through  a  hole  in  the  roof." 

Their  axes  and  most  of  their  household  utensils  were  of 
stone,  as  were  the  bowls  of  their  long  pipes.  Their  fish  lines 
were  of  twisted  fibres  of  the  dogbane  or  of  sinews  of  the 
deer,  the  hooks,  of  sharpened  bones  of  fishes  or  birds. 
Arrows  were  tipped  with  bone,  claws  of  the  larger  birds,  or 
flint.  Spears  were  made  in  the  same  way.  The  tomahawk 
was  a  wooden  club,  some  two  feet  long,  with  a  large  knob  at 
the  end.  The  money  known  as  wampum  was  of  small  round 
beads  made  of  shells,  drilled  so  that  they  could  be  strung.  A 
species  of  football,  quoits,  wrestling  and  dancing,  combined 
with  gambling,  fishing  and  the  hunt,  furnished  amusement. 
Their  language  was  guttural,  with  words  of  great  length. 

Some  corn  was  preserved  for  the  winter  by  burying  it  in 
the  ground,  under  a  covering  of  bark,  and  some  basketry  and 
pottery  were  made,  but  on  the  whole  they  were  slothful  and 
improvident.  After  the  coming  of  the  whites  they  obtained 
some  of  the  articles  of  civilization,  which  made  their  lives 
easier,  but  from  them  they  also  secured  liquor,  which  they 
had  not  known  before. 

This  last  fact  made  it  early  necessary  for  the  colony  of 
Massachusetts  Bay  to  pass  stringent  regulations  forbidding 
the  sale  of  intoxicants  to  the  natives  and  a  penalty  of  40 
shillings  was  provided   for  every  pint  sold   or    delivered, 

8 


"except  in  cases  of  sudden  exigent,  faintness,  or  sickness, 
not  to  exceed  two  drams."  An  Indian  found  drunk  was  to 
be  fined  five  shillings  or  openly  whipped.  Similar  legislation 
was  passed  by  the  Plymouth  colony,  which  in  1658,  forbade, 
on  penalty  of  a  fine  of  ten  shillings,  the  sale  of  liquor  to 
Indians,  and  directed  that  Indians  found  drunk  should  be  set 
in  the  stocks,  and  should  be  required  to  pay  charges  of  two 
shillings,  six  pence. 

The  first  land  bought  from  the  natives  was  known  as  the 
Freemen's  Purchase,  and  was  secured  under  a  grant  made 
by  the  general  court  of  Plymouth  to  26  residents  of  that 
town  in  1656.  The  deed  was  dated  April  2,  1659  and  signed 
by  Wamsutta  and  Weetamoe,  or  Tattapanum,  his  wife.  It 
conveyed  all  the  land  with  one  small  exception,  between  the 
Quequechan  river  and  the  present  northern  boundry  of  Free- 
town, a  distance  of  eight  or  nine  miles,  and  extending  back 
from  the  Taunton  river  about  four  miles.  In  other  words,  it 
included  all  of  what  is  now  Fall  River  north  of  the  line  of 
Bedford  street,  and  all  of  Freetown.  The  price  paid  was  20 
coats,  two  rugs,  two  iron  pots,  two  kettles  and  one  little 
kettle,  eight  pairs  of  shoes,  six  pairs  of  stockings,  one  dozen 
hoes,  one  dozen  hatchets,  two  yards  of  broadcloth  and  the 
satisfaction  of  a  debt  from  Wamsutta  to  John  Barns. 

With  reference  to  the  price  paid  for  this  large  tract  of 
land,  the  following  quotation  from  G.  E.  Ellis  is  in  point: 

"When  we  read  of  the  earliest  so-called  'deeds'  by  which 
the  English  colonists  obtained  from  the  sachems  wide  spaces 
of  territory  on  the  consideration  of  a  few  tools,  hatchets, 
kettles  or  yards  of  cloth,  we  naturally  regard  the  transaction 
as  simply  illustrating  the  white  man's  rapacity  and  cunning 
in  tricking  the  simplicity  of  the  savage.  But  we  may  be  sure 
that  in  many  such  cases  the  Indian  secured  what  was  to  him 
a  full  equivalent  for  that  with  which  he  parted.  For,  as  the 
whites  soon  learned  by  experience,  the  savages  supposed  that 
in  such  transactions  they  were  not  alienating  the  absolute 
ownership  of  their  lands,  but  only  covenanting  for  the  right  of 
joint  occupancy  with  the  English.  And  then  the  coveted  tools 
or  implements  obtained  by  them  represented  a  value  and  a  use 
not  measurable   by  any  reach   of  wild   territory.     A   metal 


kettle,  a  spear,  a  knife,  a  hatchet  transformed  the  whole  life 
of  a  savage.  A  blanket  was  for  him  a  whole  wardrobe. 
When  he  came  to  be  the  possessor  of  firearms, having  regarded 
himself  the  equal  of  the  white  man,  he  at  once  became  his 
superior." 

The  purchasers  were  Captain  James  Cudworth,  Josiah 
Winslow,  Sr.,  Constant  Southworth,  John  Barns,  John  Tesdale, 
Humphrey  Turner,  Walter  Hatch,  Samuel  House,  Samuel  Jack- 
son, John  Daman,  Timothy  Hatherly,  Timothy  Foster,  Thomas 
Southworth,  George  Watson,  Nathaniel  Morton,  Richard 
Moore,  Edmund  Chandler,  Samuel  Nash,  Henry  Howland, 
Ralph  Partridge,  Love  Brewster,  William  Paybody,  Christo- 
pher Wadsworth,  Kenelme  Winslow,  Thomas  Bowen  and  John 
Waterman.  The  deed  was  later  confirmed  by  the  Plymouth 
government,  and  the  lots  divided  among  the  purchasers  in  26 
shares,  each  with  a  frontage  of  about  100  rods  on  the  river 
and  running  back  to  the  easterly  bound.  Timothy  Foster  had 
the  lot  nearest  the  Quequechan  and  Humphrey  Turner  the 
next.  Beyond  him  in  order  were  Wadsworth,  Chandler,  House, 
Howland  and  Watson. 

Matthew  Boomer  was  probably  the  first  settler  in  this 
tract,  having  bought  a  part  of  the  fourth  lot  in  March,  1676, 
and  erected  a  dwelling  near  the  corner  of  North  Main  and 
Brownell  streets  soon  after.  John  Read  came  from  Newport, 
and  in  1686  was  living  where  St.  Joseph's  church  stands. 
George  Lawton,  Samuel  Gardner  of  Newport,  Henry  Howland 
of  Duxbury,  Robert  Durfee,  Hugh  Woodberee  and  William 
Chase  also  settled  here  soon  after  King  Philip's  war.  After 
the  inhabitants  had  been  established  as  a  township  under  the 
name  of  Freetown  by  act  of  the  Plymouth  colony  in  July,  1683, 
Gardner  was  made  town  clerk  and  later  purchased  what  is  now 
known  as  Gardner's  Neck  at  South  Swansea. 

The  land  south  of  the  Freeman's  Purchase,  including  the 
present  town  of  Tiverton,  and  extending  back  from  the  bay 
four  to  six  miles,  with  certain  exceptions  of  small  tracts  previ- 
ously sold,  was  conveyed  from  the  Plymouth  government 
March  5,  1679-80,  in  consideration  of  1100  pounds,  English 
money,  to  Edward  Gray  of  Plymouth,  Nathaniel  Thomas  of 
Marshfield,  Christopher  Almy,  Job  Almy  and  Thomas  Waite  of 

10 


Portsmouth  and  Benjamin  Church,  Daniel  Wilcox  and  William 
Manchester  of  Puncatest, 

The  ' '  mill  right ' '  a  strip  of  land  about  30  rods  wide  along 
the  Quequechan  river  extending  back  from  the  bay  one  mile 
was  held  in  common  and  sold  in  shares.  Several  divisions 
were  made  of  the  remainder.  The  first  was  in  1682-3,  when 
the  so-called  "great  lots"  were  laid  out,  in  most  cases  52  rods 
wide  and  running  back  one  mile  from  the  bay  to  what  is  now 
Plymouth  avenue,  formerly  called  Eight  Rod  Way.  Edward 
Gray  was  the  first  individual  owner  of  lots  one  and  two  and 
William  Manchester  of  number  three.  Later  the  land  between 
Plymouth  avenue,  the  Watuppa  pond  and  the  Quequechan 
river  was  divided  into  "six-score  acre  lots"  and  in  1697  a 
third  division  took  place. 

The  tract  which  also  included  land  east  of  the  Freeman's 
Purchase,  was  known  as  the  Pocasset  Purchase  and  was  under 
the  government  of  Plymouth  till  March  2, 1692,  when  it,  with 
Puncatest,  was  incorporated  by  the  state  of  Massachusetts 
as  the  town  of  Tiverton.  The  original  freemen  of  the  town 
were  Major  Church,  John  Pearce,  John  Cook,  Gersham 
Woodle,  Richard  Borden,  Christopher  Almy,  Thomas  Cory, 
Stephen  Manchester,  Joseph  Wanton,  Forbes  Manchester, 
Daniel  Rowland,  Edward  Gray,  Edward  Briggs,  William 
Manchester,  Amos  Sheffield,  Daniel  Wilcox,  Edward  Colby, 
Joseph  Tabor,  David  Lake,  Thomas  Waite,  Joseph  Tallman, 
John  Briggs,  John  Cooke,  William  Almy,  and  John  Cooke, Jr. 

A  question  as  to  the  location  of  the  boundary  line  between 
Freetown  and  Tiverton,  (that  being  the  line  between  the 
Freeman  and  Pocasset  purchases,)  arose  early  in  the  eighteenth 
century,  owing  to  indefiniteness  in  the  Plymouth  and  Rhode 
Island  charters,  and  a  committee  consisting  of  Job  Winslow, 
Josiah  Winslow,  Robert  Durfee,  and  Henry  Brightman  was 
chosen  to  represent  the  proprietors  of  Freetown,  and  Christo- 
pher Almy,  Samuel  Little,  and  Richard  Borden  to  represent 
those  of  Tiverton. 

This  committee  reported  and  fixed  the  line  as  follows: 
"  Beginning  at  a  cleft  rock  on  the  East  side  of  the  country 
road  near  the  Fall  River,  said  rock  being  the  bounds  of  the 
Freeman's  first  lot  and  from  said  rock  ranging  southwest  and 

11 


by  West  to  the  river  at  the  westerly  side  of  the  country  road, 
and  from  thence  the  river  to  be  the  bounds  westerly  unto 
Taunton  river,  and  from  the  aforesaid  rock  ranging  East 
South  East  four  miles  into  the  woods  by  a  range  of  marked 
trees  unto  a  heap  of  stones  with  several  trees  marked  about  it 
and  from  said  heap  of  stones  ranging  Northeast  and  by  North 
one  degree  northerly  by  a  range  of  marked  trees  unto  a  stone 
set  into  the  ground  with  other  stones  laid  about  it  being  the 
head  of  the  four  mile  line  from  Stacy's  Creek.  Said  range  to 
extend  until  it  meet  with  Middleboro  town  bounds.  These 
aforesaid  boundaries  thus  run  and  settled  we  do  mutually  agree 
shall  be  the  perpetual  bounds  between  the  land  of  the  aforesaid 
proprietors  of  Freetown  and  the  proprietors  of  Tiverton." 

This  report  was  signed  by  all  of  the  committee  above 
named  save  Job  Winslow,  and  was  approved  by  act  of  the 
general  court  or  assembly  for  his  Majesty's  province  of  the 
Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  England  May  29,  1700. 

The  water  power  of  the  Quequechan  had  been  recognized 
as  of  special  value  when  the  strip  along  its  border  was  set 
aside  as  a  "mill  right,"  and  Col.  Benjamin  Church  and  his 
brother  Caleb,  who  had  purchased  a  large  part,  erected  a  saw 
mill  there  before  1691.  A  few  years  later  a  grist  mill  and  a 
fulling  mill,  the  latter  for  cleansing  home-grown  wool  prepara- 
tory to  spinning  and  "fulling "  or  thickening  the  cloth,  were 
erected  on  the  west  side  of  Main  street,  after  the  stream  had 
been  dammed.  About  1714  the  Churchs  sold  their  interest 
to  Richard  and  Joseph  Borden,  who  thus  secured  control  of  the 
water  power,  w^hich  was  retained  in  their  family  till  the  erec- 
tion of  the  Troy  mill  and  the  Fall  River  manufactory  in  1813. 
Prior  to  the  Revolution  another  saw  mill  and  a  grist  mill  were 
erected  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  near  the  present  No.  7  mill  of 
the  Fall  River  Iron  Works  Company. 

Early  in  the  century,  also,  a  tannery  was  established  by 
John  Read  on  what  is  now  called  French's  hill,  where  the 
Westport  Mfg.  Co.,'s  storehouse  now  stands.  This  was  sold 
in  1801  by  his  heirs  to  Enoch  French,  who  carried  on  business 
here  till  about  1840,  and  from  whom  the  hill  took  its  name. 

Another  tan  yard  stood  on  Bedford  street,  at  the  foot  of 
Rock,  where  it  was  started  in  1810  and  carried  on  for  many 

12 


years  by  Edmund  Chase  and  his  son,  Edmund  Chase,  Jr. , and 
discontinued  in  1888. 

The  principal  occupation  was  farming,  though  many  small 
vessels  were  built  and  owned  here,  which  gave  employment  to 
a  considerable  number  of  the  citizens.  The  population  was 
small,  and  a  census  of  Freetown  in  1765  showed  but  1,492 
inhabitants.  In  1776  this  had  grown  to  1,901  and  in  1792  to 
2,202.  Tiverton  about  1750  had  1,040  inhabitants,  of  whom 
842  were  whites,  99  negroes  and  99  Indians. 

The  Friends  were  the  largest  religious  denomination,  with 
a  meeting  house  erected  in  1714,  not  far  from  the  present 
location  of  the  Crystal  Spring  Bleachery.  The  law  of  the 
state,  nevertheless,  required  the  town  to  have  a  Congrega- 
tional minister,  and  this  was  a  frequent  topic  of  discussion  at 
town  meetings.  Little  sympathy  was  felt,  apparently,  with 
the  statute,  for  the  town  was  frequently  indicted  for  not  com- 
plying. The  minister  was  at  times  also  the  school  teacher,  and, 
in  fact,  the  first  mention  of  schools  in  the  Freetown  records  is 
in  1702,  when  Robert  Durfee  was  authorized  to  secure  a  man 
to  dispense  the  gospel  and  teach  the  children  reading  and 
writing.  School  houses  first  appear  in  the  records  in  1722 
when  two  buildings  were  ordered  erected.  In  1727  a  school 
building  was  authorized  to  be  built,  18  feet  by  14.  In  1791  the 
town  was  divided  into  seven  school  districts  and  new  buildings 
erected.  That  in  the  center  was  but  24x20.  A  Congregational 
meeting  house  had  been  built,  in  1714,  on  the  easterly  side  of 
the  main  road  a  few  hundred  feet  south  of  the  present  line 
between  Freetown  and  Fall  River.  It  was  26x36  and  was  18 
feet  between  joints.  The  General  Court  contributed  20  pounds 
to  the  cost.  The  town  stocks,  erected  in  1690,  for  the  punish- 
ment of  minor  offenses,  stood  near. 

Most  of  the  Indians  had  met  death  in  King  Philip's  War 
or  had  fled  from  the  section,  and  the  few  that  remained  were 
friendly  to  the  whites.  Land  for  them  was  set  aside  on 
Stafford  road  in  1704,  but  a  few  years  later  they  were  trans- 
ferred at  their  request  to  the  reservation  on  the  east  side  of 
the  pond,  called  Indian  Reservation.  Here,  however,  through 
removal  and  intermarriage,  their  numbers  rapidly  decreased, 
until  at  the  present  time  but  one  family  remains  on  the  reser- 
vation. 

13 


Just  before  the  Revolution,  Tory  sentiment  was  strong, 
and  at  a  town  meeting  on  Jan.  26,  1774,  resolutions  were 
adopted  severely  condemning  the  town  of  Boston  for  allowing 
the  destruction  of  tea  in  its  harbor,  and  declaring  that  the 
town  of  Freetown,  "abhorred,  detested  and  forever  bore 
testimony  against  such  acts,"  as  "riotous  and  mobish  pro- 
ceedings." By  the  late  summer,  however,  the  feeling  had 
changed,  and  at  a  town  meeting  on  September  19,  delegates 
were  selected  to  confer  at  Taunton  with  representatives  of 
the  other  towns  as  to  "measures  proper"  in  the  situation. 
At  the  meeting  held  in  Taunton  Sept.  28,  resolutions  were 
unanimously  adopted  that  those  present  were  "  determined  at 
the  risk  of  their  fortunes  and  their  lives  to  defend  their  natural 
and  compacted  rights"  and  to  "oppose  to  their  utmost  all 
illegal  and  unconstitutional  measures  which  have  been  or 
hereafter  may  be  adopted  by  the  British  Parliament  or  the 
British  Ministry. ' '  Thirty-one  men  from  Freetown  responded 
to  the  Lexington  alarm  on  April  19,  1775. 

On  May  10,  1775,  the  town  voted  to  care  for  the  families 
of  poor  soldiers.  In  March  1776,  a  committee  of  correspond- 
ence, inspection  and  safety  was  elected  and  boats  were  ordered 
built  "  To  cross  the  river  in,  if  our  enemies  should  attack  our 
friends  on  the  opposite  shore."  At  a  town  meeting  July  15, 
1776,  strong  resolutions  were  adopted  declaring  that  loyalty 
to  the  king  was  treason  against  the  people  of  this  country  and 
that  "We  are  ready  with  our  Lives  and  fortunes  to  support  the 
General  Congress  in  Declaring  the  united  American  Colonies 
free  and  independent  of  Create  Britain. ' '  The  town  approved 
the  articles  of  confederation  Feb.  10,  1777. 

Colonel  Joseph  Durfee,  who  had  taken  an  active  part  in 
the  war,  and  who  was  afterwards  to  start  the  first  cotton  mill 
here,  formed  a  home  guard  in  the  fall  of  1777.  Quarters 
were  secured  in  a  store  near  the  shore,  where  the  men  met 
every  day  and  called  the  roll,  and  sentinels  were  placed  each 
night,  to  give  an  alarm,  in  case  of  the  approach  of  the  British, 
who  then  held  the  south  end  of  the  island  of  Rhode  Island. 

On  Sunday  morning.  May  25,  1778,  boats  were  discovered 
silently  and  cautiously  approaching  the  shore.  They  were 
challenged  but  returned  no  answer,  and  one  of  the  guard, 

14 


Samuel  Reed,  then  fired  upon  them.  This  gave  the  alarm, 
and  the  whole  neighborhood  was  soon  in  arms. 

Col.  Durfee  stationed  his  men  behind  a  stone  wall  and 
kept  up  a  constant  fire  on  the  British  until  the  latter  brought 
their  cannon  to  bear.  The  Americans  retreated  slowly  to 
Main  street,  near  the  present  location  of  city  hall.  Here  a 
stand  was  made,  and  the  enemy  so  roughly  handled  that  they 
soon  retreated,  leaving  behind  them  one  dead  and  another 
dying,  others  wounded  were  carried  with  them. 

The  attacking  force  numbered  about  150,  and  was  com- 
manded by  Major  Ayres.  When  they  landed  they  set  fire  to 
the  house  of  Thomas  Borden,  near  the  northeast  corner  of 
Pond  and  Anawan  streets,  and  also  to  his  saw  mill  and  grist 
mill  near  the  foot  of  the  stream.  On  their  retreat  they  fired 
the  house  and  other  buildings  of  Richard  Borden,  then  an  aged 
man,  and  took  him  prisoner.  As  they  made  their  way  down 
the  bay  the  Americans  continued  to  pour  in  a  musket  fire  on 
them,  and  one  British  soldier  was  killed  in  the  boats.  Mr. 
Borden  was  released  on  parole  after  a  few  days. 

In  commemoration  of  this  engagement  Quequechan  Chap- 
ter. D.  A.  R.,  placed  a  bronze  tablet  on  the  southwest  corner 
of  City  Hall  on  May  25,  1899. 


FALL  RIVER  A  TOWN 

After  the  Revolution,  the  town  of  Freetown  grew  steadily, 
and  in  1800  had  attained  a  population  of  2,535.  The  residents 
of  the  southern  part  were  now  pressing  to  be  set  off  as  a 
separate  community.  Their  chief  argument,  as  set  forth  in  a 
petition  to  the  legislature  dated  Jan.  12,  1802,  and  signed  by 
Thomas  Borden  and  155  others,  was  that  they  were  nearly 
eight  miles  from  the  town  meeting  house  at  the  north  end  of 
Freetown,  that  almost  all  of  them  were  seafarers  or  trades- 
men, who  had  no  horses,  thus  making  it  difficult  to  attend 
meetings,  that  the  three  principal  settlements  were  at  the 
points  of  a  triangle,  and  that  owing  to  the  long  swamp  which 
ran  through  the  center  of  the  town,  no  location  for  a  town 
house  equally  convenient  for  all  was  possible. 

15 


At  a  town  meeting  on  Feb.  4,  1802,  a  unanimous  vote 
against  division  was  adopted,  but  later  reconsidered  and  a 
committee  appointed  to  present  a  plan  for  division.  That 
committee  suggested  a  line  about  where  the  boundary  was 
subsequently  established,  and  the  report  was  accepted. 

The  plan  was  opposed  in  the  committee  hearing  at  the 
state  house  and  leave  to  withdraw  reported.  The  house, 
however,  appointed  a  special  committee  to  visit  the  town  and 
consider  the  matter,  and  this  committee  on  Feb.  5,  1803, 
reported  in  favor  of  a  division.  A  bill  was  presented  and 
passed,  and  was  approved  by  Governor  Caleb  Strong,  Feb. 26, 
1803,  which  divided  the  town  as  desired  and  incorporated  the 
southerly  part  as  Fallriver,  spelled  as  one  word.  This  name 
was  not  pleasing,  however,  to  those  citizens  who  did  not  live 
in  the  little  community  near  the  stream,  and  at  a  town  meet- 
ing on  May  19,  1804,  it  was  voted  to  change  the  name  to  Troy, 
a  word  said  to  have  been  selected  in  consequence  of  a  favor- 
able impression  made  on  one  of  the  residents  by  the  town  of 
Troy,  New  York.  A  petition  to  the  legislature  followed,  and 
the  change  was  authorized  on  June  18  of  that  year.  The  com- 
munity continued  to  be  known  as  Troy  for  30  years,  till  1834, 
when  the  present  title  was  resumed.  The  change  from  Troy 
back  to  Fall  River  was  urged  on  two  grounds,  one  that  the 
village  where  most  of  the  business  was  transacted  was  known 
as  Fall  River  and  the  other  that  there  was  constant  confusion 
in  mail  owing  to  the  fact  that  there  were  other  towns  named 
Troy. 

The  first  town  meeting  was  held  April  4, 1803,  at  the  home 
of  Louisa  Borden,  at  which  Simeon  Borden,  Thomas  Borden 
and  Charles  Durfee  were  appointed  a  committee  to  settle 
affairs  between  the  old  town  of  Freetown  and  the  new  town. 
A  second  meeting  was  held  on  Aug.  15,  1803,  when  it  was 
voted  that  the  poor  of  the  town  should  be  put  up  at  auction 
and  the  contract  for  their  support  awarded  to  the  lowest 
bidder.  This  practice  continued  until  about  1825,  though  an 
almshouse  was  maintained  during  part  of  this  time. 

At  the  time  Fall  River  began  its  history  as  a  separate 
town  it  had  but  about  1,000  inhabitants,  and  the  village  itself 
only  about  100.     The  census  of  1810  gave  Troy  a  population 

16 


of  but  1296,  while  within  a  section  a  mile  and  a  half  square 
there  were  only  some  30  dwelling  houses,  three  saw  mills, 
four  grist  mills,  a  fulling  mill,  a  blacksmith  shop  and  some 
small  stores.  At  the  southwesterly  corner  of  South  Main  and 
Broadway,  now  Anawan,  street  was  a  schoolhouse,  and  on 
the  line  dividing  the  states,  a  short  distance  north  of  Columbia 
street,  was  an  old,  unplastered  meeting  house,  occupied  occa- 
sionally and  called  the  Line  Meeting  House,  The  regular 
place  of  worship  was  at  the  Narrows,  where  a  Baptist  church 
had  been  erected  about  1800.  The  entire  valuation  of  the 
town  was  less  than  $500,000,  and  the  total  tax,  in  1813,  only 
$1500. 

The  first  town  house  was  erected  in  1804-05,  probably 
at  the  corner  of  Main  and  Wilson  roads,  and  this  continued 
to  be  the  meeting  place  despite  attempts  to  have  it  moved 
till  it  was  destroyed  by  fire  some  20  years  later.  A  post 
office  was  established  in  1811,  but  removed  to  Steep  Brook, 
two  years  later,  and  re-established  at  Troy,  now  Fall  River 
in  1816. 

The  custom  house  for  the  section  was  then  at  Dighton, 
where  it  had  been  established  at  the  beginning  of  the  federal 
government,  and  Fall  River  remained  a  part  of  the  district  of 
Dighton  till  April  1,  1837,  when  the  office  was  removed  to  Fall 
River,  which  was  made  the  port  of  entry  in  place  of  Dighton, 
and  the  name  of  the  district  changed  to  Fall  River. 

There  was  no  regular  communication  with  Providence, 
but  vessels  plying  between  Providence  and  Taunton  called 
here  to  take  and  leave  freight.  Stage  lines  to  Providence, 
Newport  and  New  Bedford  were  established  in  1825.  A  line 
was  also  run  from  Newport  to  Boston,  which  made  deliveries 
here. 

During  the  war  of  1812  the  town  purchased  a  supply  of 
guns  and  ammunition,  but  these  appear  never  to  have  been 
used,  and  were  subsequently  ordered  sold. 

In  1811  Col.  Joseph  Durfee  had  built  the  first  cotton  mill 
in  this  section  at  Globe  Village,  then  a  part  of  Tiverton,  but 
this  industry  was  small,  and  though  it  marked  the  real  begin- 
ning of  cotton  manufacturing  here,  it  was  not  until  two  years 
later  that  mills  were  erected  on  the  stream  in  what  is  now  the 

17 


center  of  the  city.  These  were  the  Troy  Cotton  &  Woolen 
Manufactory  and  the  Fall  River  Manufactory,  with  capitals  of 
$50,000  and  $40,000,  respectively,  both  started  in  1813.  They 
gave  a  considerable  impetus  to  the  community  and  the  census 
of  1820  showed  a  population  of  1594. 

In  the  ten  years  between  1820  and  1830  the  town  experi- 
enced a  boom.  The  Fall  River  Iron  Works,  now  a  great  cotton 
manufacturing  plant,  began  operations  in  1821,  for  the  manu- 
facture of  hoop  and  bar  iron  and  nails,  with  a  capital  of  $24,000. 
The  Pocasset  Mfg.  Co.  was  started  by  New  Bedford  capitalists 
about  the  same  time,  Robeson's  print  works,  and  the  satinet 
mill,  about  1824,  and  the  Annawan  in  1825.  The  Pocasset 
erected  a  new  mill  in  1826,  and  in  1827  the  small  mill  at  the 
west  side  of  its  main  plant  and  still  run  by  the  company, 
known  first  as  the  Massasoit  and  afterward  as  the  Watuppa. 
When  built  it  was  so  great  a  wonder  that  people  came  from 
far  and  near  to  see  it,  for  its  size  was  remarkable  in  mill  con- 
struction. It  was  so  large  that  it  was  felt  no  one  concern 
would  want  to  use  it  all,  and  having  two  wheel  pits,  it  was 
divided  into  sections  to  let  to  various  persons.  The  Fall  River 
Manufactory  at  this  time  also  built  its  "Nankeen  Mill,"  oper- 
ated by  Azariah  and  Jarvis  Shove  in  making  nankeen  cloth. 
It  was  torn  down  when  the  corporation  built  a  new  mill, 
known  as  the  "  white  mill  "  in  1839.  Oliver  Chace's  thread 
mill,  now  the  Conanicut,  began  operations  in  1835. 

The  Fall  River  Bank  was  opened  in  1825,  the  Fall  River 
Savings  Bank  in  1828  and  the  Fall  River  Union  Bank  in  1830. 

The  North  Burial  Ground  was  bought  in  1825.  The 
undertaking  business  was  then  insufficient  to  make  it  profitable 
for  any  man  to  keep  a  hearse,  but  the  town  maintained  one 
for  free  public  use,  in  the  "hearse  house,"  standing  until  a 
few  years  ago  on  the  west  side  of  North  Main  street,  a  short 
distance  north  of  Brownell  street. 

The  Monitor  newspaper  began  publication  as  a  weekly  in 
1826,  with  its  first  issue  appearing  from  an  office  on  Bedford 
street  near  Main. 

The  first  steps  toward  a  fire  department  were  taken 
the  following  year,  when  ten  fire  wards,  or  wardens,  were 
appointed,  and  in  1829  an  engine  was  purchased  and  a  house 

18 


erected  for  it.  This  supplemented  a  "  bucket  engine  **  which 
had  been  secured  in  1818. 

The  churches  had  now  become  more  numerous,  and  some 
of  the  older  structures  still  standing  were  erected  between 
1825  and  1850.  Of  these,  the  First  Congregational,  at  the 
corner  of  North  Main  and  Elm  streets,  was  completed  in  1832, 
the  First  Christian,  on  Franklin  street,  burned  in  1843,  had 
been  built  in  1830  and  the  Unitarian,  which  originally  stood  at 
the  corner  of  Second  and  Borden  streets,  in  1835.  A  Methodist 
church  had  been  formed  here  in  1827  and  had  erected  an  edi- 
fice south  of  Central  street,  and  the  Church  of  the  Ascension, 
the  beginning  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  work  here,  had  been 
organized  in  1836.  The  Friends  Meeting  House  erected  in 
1821  on  North  Main  street  was  moved  and  a  larger  one  took  its 
place  in  1836.  The  Baptist  Temple  dates  from  1840  and  the 
First  M.  E.  Church  location  on  South  Main  street  from  1844. 
The  first  Roman  Catholic  service  is  believed  to  have  been  held 
in  Fall  River  in  1829,  and  in  1836  a  wooden  chapel,  called  St. 
John's,  was  erected  where  St.  Mary's  cathedral  now  stands. 

In  1841  the  selectmen  were  instructed  at  Town  meeting 
to  employ  some  one  "to  take  charge  of  the  clock  of  the  Stone 
church  and  keep  it  running,"  and  this  has  been  done  by  the 
town  and  city  up  to  the  present  day. 

In  the  decade  beginning  with  1831  the  town  continued  to 
move  forward  and  increased  its  population  more  than  60  per 
cent,  from  4, 159  in  1830  to 6, 738  in  1840.  The  American  Print 
Works  began  operation  in  January,  1835,  with  four  printing 
machines,  and  enlarged  five  years  later.  The  machine  method 
of  producing  calico,  a  few  years  after,  wholly  superseded 
block,  or  hand,  printing.  At  first  only  two  or  three  colors 
were  applied  by  machinery,  but  mechanical  ingenuity  soon 
succeeded  in  multiplying  them  to  such  an  extent  and  applying 
them  with  so  much  precision  that  manual  printing  became 
obsolete. 

New  streets  were  called  for  and  provided.  Pocasset  and 
Pleasant  were  opened  in  1830,  while  in  1832,  those  laid  out, 
extended  or  accepted  included  Cherry,  formerly  known  as 
Tasker,  Broadway,  later  called  Annawan,  Spring, Washington 
and  Union.     In  1835  many  others  were  laid  out,  and  Rock, 

19 


which  had  been  known  as  Exchange  street,  was  given  its 
present  title.  The  first  public  drain  in  the  village,  at  the 
"Four  Corners,"  was  begun  in  1831,  and  in  1835  the  poor  farm 
property,  including  what  is  now  the  North  Park,  was  purchased. 
The  "Four  Cornees  "  was  the  junction  of  North  and  South 
Main,  Central  and  Bedford  streets.  Here  w^as  the  "  cleft 
rock"  at  the  northeast  corner,  the  place  of  evening  gatherings 
of  the  villagers  to  discuss  public  and  other  questions. 

South  of  Central  street  was  the  ' '  Creek  , "  extending  from 
the  present  easterly  end  of  what  was  formerly  known  as  the 
Metacomet  Mill,  westerly  nearly  to  present  Water  St.  The 
width  of  this  creek  varied  from  150  to  400  feet,  the  wider 
portion  being  at  the  easterly  end,  where,  near  the  shore,  stood 
a  grist  mill  and  saw  mill. 

This  creek  was  navigable,  and  the  Providence  packet 
came  to  the  doors  of  the  mills  to  receive  and  deliver  freight. 
On  the  northerly  side  was  a  landing  from  which  large  quanti- 
ties of  wood  were  taken,  it  being  consigned  to  Newport  and 
other  nearby  points. 

From  the  landing  to  the  top  of  the  bank,  a  short  distance 
south  of  Central  street,  was  a  wood  slide  having  a  bottom  of 
oak  plank,  with  sides  about  18  inches  in  height.  Wood  drawn 
in  from  the  outlying  districts  and  thrown  into  this  slide  soon 
found  its  way  to  the  landing  below,  where  it  was  easily  loaded 
into  vessels. 

A  wood  lot  was  considered  as  good  as  a  bank  account, 
there  being  quite  a  demand  for  wood,  and  any  person  in  need 
of  cash  could,  provided  he  had  the  wood,  load  his  team,  drive 
*  'to  town,"  and  convert  it  into  cash  without  difficulty. 

At  the  westerly  end  of  the  creek,  there  were  floating  in 
the  water  a  large  number  of  pine  logs  of  various  lengths  from 
which  pumps  were  to  be  made  as  called  for.  The  only  method 
of  obtaining  water  for  domestic  purposes  was  by  use  of  wells 
or  pumps,  and  there  was  a  steady,  though  not  great  demand 
for  pumps.  Two,  or  more,  were  installed  in  each  sailing 
vessel.  The  object  of  keeping  the  logs  in  the  water  was  to 
prevent  cracking,  as  would  have  been  the  case  had  they  been 
exposed  to  the  sun's  rays.  It  was  somewhat  of  a  feat  to  bore 
one  of  these  logs  and  get  the  opening  straight,  and  in  the 

20 


center  of  the  log.  The  "  Block  Shop  "  on  the  easterly  side  of 
Water  street,  a  short  distance  south  of  Central  street  where 
these  pumps  were  made,  was  in  existence  as  late  as  1870, 

In  excavating  for  a  foundation  for  the  stone  arch  to  carry 
Central  street  across  the  outlet  of  the  creek,  constructed  in 
connection  with  the  work  of  abolishing  grade  crossings  in 
1903,  large  quantities  of  sawdust  and  numerous  large  logs 
were  found  buried  under  several  feet  of  mud.  In  excavating 
for  foundations  for  the  No.  7  Mill  of  the  Fall  River  Iron  Works 
Co.,  oak  logs  and  sawdust  were  found  ten  to  twenty  feet  below 
the  surface  of  the  old  pond  which  was  west  of  the  Annawan 
Mill.  This,  without  doubt,  also  came  from  the  saw  mill  near 
the  foot  of  the  river.  In  the  early  days  there  were  several 
"  wash  wheels  "  on  the  south  side  of  the  stream,  owned  and 
operated  by  theTroy,  Pocasset  and  Annawan  companies, where 
for  a  small  sum  the  women  of  the  community  might  have 
their  clothes  washed  in  the  river.  The  wheels  were  some 
eight  or  nine  feet  in  diameter,  provided  with  boxes  having 
slats,  in  which  the  clothes  were  placed.  They  continued  to  be 
used  till  about  1847. 

A  town  house  had  been  erected  on  a  part  of  the  North 
Burial  Ground  soon  after  its  purchase,  to  take  the  place  of 
the  building  at  Steep  Brook,  which  had  been  burned.  In 
1836  this  was  removed  to  Central  street  and  continued  to  be 
used  for  the  meetings  of  voters  till  the  erection  of  the  new 
town  hall  on  the  site  of  the  present  city  hall  in  1844. 

The  skeleton  in  armor,  celebrated  by  Longfellow,  and  since 
commemorated  by  a  bronze  tablet  erected  near  by,  was  dis- 
covered in  1832,  in  a  sand  or  gravel  bank  near  Hartwell  and 
Fifth  streets.  It  was  near  the  surface,  in  a  sitting  posture, 
and  quite  perfect.  On  it  was  a  triangular  plate  of  brass,  and 
about  the  waist  a  belt  of  brass  tubes,  each  four  or  five  inches 
long,  about  the  size  of  a  pipe  stem  and  placed  close  together. 
Arrow  heads  and  parts  of  other  skeletons  were  found  near 
by,  and  the  skeleton  was  supposed  to  have  been  that  of  some 
Indian,  probably  a  chief.  It  was  removed  to  the  rooms  of  the 
Fall  River  Athenaeum,  and  was  destroyed  in  the  fire  of  1843. 

That  fire,  still  spoken  of  by  the  older  citizens  as  '  'the  great 
fire, "  was  a  serious  matter  for  the  town.    It  occurred  on  Sun- 

21 


day,  July  2,  1843,  starting  about  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  in 
a  pile  of  shavings,  from  the  premature  celebration  of  the 
Fourth  by  small  boys.  It  began  near  the  corner  of  Main  and 
Borden  streets  in  the  rear  of  a  large  three-story  warehouse, 
and  almost  instantly  spread  to  the  neighboring  buildings.  A 
high  southwest  wind  fanned  the  flames  and  carried  the  sparks. 
No  rain  had  fallen  for  weeks,  and  the  buildings  were  very 
dry.  As  a  consequence  the  structures  on  both  sides  of  Main 
street  were  soon  on  fire,  and  the  whole  space  between  Main, 
Franklin,  Rock  and  Borden  streets  was  burned  over.  A 
change  in  the  direction  of  the  wind  from  southwest  to  north, 
thus  driving  the  fire  back  over  the  burned  district,  was 
probably  all  that  prevented  the  destruction  of  nearly  the 
entire  village.  The  water  in  the  stream  had  been  drawn  off 
to  allow  repairs  in  some  of  the  mills,  and  the  only  means  of 
fighting  the  flames  were  hand  engines  and  bucket  brigades. 
About  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening,  a  vessel  arrived  from  Bristol, 
with  a  hand  engine,  which  assisted  in  saving  houses  on 
Purchase  street. 

Nearly  200  buildings  were  destroyed,  including  95  dwell- 
ings, the  "Old  Bridge  Mill,"  the  Methodist  and  Christian 
churches,  the  Annawan  schoolhouse,  the  postoffice  and  custom 
house  and  two  hotels.  The  loss  was  estimated  at  $526,000, 
about  one-third  of  which  was  covered  by  insurance.  A  relief 
committee  was  appointed,  to  care  for  those  made  destitute, 
and  an  appeal  for  help  sent  to  other  towns.  Almost  $51,000 
was  received  in  response,  of  which  $13, 165  came  from  Boston, 
while  Providence  and  New  Bedford  each  sent  about  $1700. 
New  York  also  sent  funds. 

The  town  recovered  quickly  from  the  fire  that  at  first 
seemed  a  calamity,  and  the  new  buildings  erected  in  place  of 
the  old  were  substantial  and,  undoubtedly,  a  great  improve- 
ment on  those  which  had  been  destroyed.  They  included  the 
Granite  Block,  and  several  at  least,  of  the  brick  buildings  now 
standing  on  North  Main  street  between  Bedford  and  Franklin. 
A  new  town  hall,  the  walls  of  which  are  those  of  the  present 
city  hall,  was  constructed,  and  dedicated,  Dec.  30,  1845.  This 
had  markets  and  offices  on  the  first  floor  and  a  large  hall  and 
town  offices  above. 

22 


In  new  industries  a  mill  known  as  the  "Massasoit  Steam 
Mill,"  because,  unlike  the  other  mills,  it  had  no  water  power, 
being  operated  by  steam,  was  erected  in  1845,  on  the  west 
side  of  Davol  street,  at  the  end  of  Cherry,  and  a  mill  was  built 
by  Augustus  Chace  and  William  B.  Trafford  in  1845,  for  the 
manufacture  of  cotton  twine,  batting  and  cotton  warp.  It 
was  later  known  as  the  Wyoming  Mills.  The  buildings  were 
sold  to  James  Marshall  for  the  hat  factory  about  1896, 

The  years  1846  and  1847  saw  the  erection  of  two  large 
mills,  the  first  of  that  type.  The  earlier  factories  had  been 
but  two  or  three  stories  high,  40  or  50  feet  wide  and  about  100 
feet  long.  The  Pocasset  Company  now  constructed  a  mill  of 
five  stories,  219  feet  in  length  and  75  feet  wide,  and  the  Fall 
River  Iron  Works  Co.  built  the  Metacomet  mill,  which  it  long 
controlled  and  which  was  likewise  a  tremendous  plant  for 
those  times.  Six  years  later  the  American  Linen  Co,  was 
established,  with  extensive  buildings,  and  designed,  primarily, 
as  its  name  implies,  for  the  manufacture  of  linen  goods,  in 
which  it  engaged  for  some  years.  Another  considerable 
industry  had  grown  up  at  Globe  Village,  in  the  Globe  Print 
Works,  on  the  stream  from  the  Cook  Pond  into  the  bay.  To 
meet  the  increased  business,  additional  banks  had  likewise 
been  established,  the  Massasoit  in  1846,  the  Citizens  Savings 
in  1851,  the  Metacomet  in  1852  and  the  Pocasset  in  1854. 

The  new  mills  brought  new  inhabitants,  including  immi- 
grants from  Great  Britain,  and  the  population  grew  to  10,290  in 
1845,  and  11,170  in  1850.  New  school  buildings  were  required 
and  built,  the  Anna  wan  having  been  burned  and  rebuilt  shortly 
after  1843,  the  High  street,  later  called  the  Lincoln,  in  1846, 
the  June  street  in  1849  and  the  Columbia  street  about  1852.  An 
evening  school  was  opened  in  1848,  a  high  school  the  following 
year,  on  Franklin  street,  but  removed  in  1852  to  the  building 
erected  for  its  use  on  June  street,  later  called  the  Foster 
Hooper.  Other  early  schools  were  one  of  brick  on  the  west 
side  of  North  Main  street,  opposite  where  the  Narragansett 
Mill  now  stands  and  the  "Green  Schoolhouse"  on  the  north  side 
of  Franklin  street,  between  High  and  Rock,  erected  in  1832 
and  later  sold,  and  occupied  on  the  first  floor  by  members  of  the 
Society  of  Friends  and  on  the  upper  floor  by  a  private  school. 

23 


A  police  force  of  six  men  had  been  appointed  in  1844,  and 
a  hospital  built  on  the  town  farm  land  in  1851,  on  the  north 
side  of  Brownell  street,  about  midway  between  North  Main 
street  and  Highland  avenue.  Gas  had  been  introduced  in 
1847,  and  three  years  later  the  first  street  lights  of  gas,  some  20 
or  30,  were  authorized.  In  1853  the  records  show  an  appropri- 
ation of  $1,000  for  street  sprinkhng. 

A  regular  steamer  was  now  plying  to  Providence.  The 
Hancock,  of  98  tons,  began  trips  in  September,  1828,  v^as 
succeeded  by  the  King  Philip,  of  169  tons,  in  1832,  and  the 
Bradford  Durfee,  of  333  tons  in  1845.  The  Canonicus,  an 
excursion  boat,  was  built  in  1849,  and  later  enlarged.  The 
Metacomet,  which  came  here  in  1854,  was  in  1857  purchased 
by  the  United  States  government  and  entered  the  navy  as  the 
gunboat  Pulaski.  She  was  finally  sold  at  Montevideo, Uruguay, 
in  1863,  and  was  plying  on  the  LaPlatte  river  as  late  as  1870. 

Before  the  Hancock  took  her  place  on  the  line  there  were 
packets  running  regularly  between  Providence  and  Fall  River, 
under  command  of  Capt.  Thomas  Borden,  who,  when  the  Han- 
cock was  purchased,  brought  her  around  from  Boston  and  after- 
ward commanded  her.  He  was  extremely  unwilling  to  turn 
from  anything  he  had  undertaken,  and  when,  in  bringing  the 
Hancock  up  the  Seaconnet  river  he  found  she  was  a  little  too 
wide  to  pass  through  the  draw  at  Stone  Bridge,  he  is  said  to 
have  hewn  off"  with  a  broadaxe  enough  of  the  guards  to  allow 
her  to  pass,  rather  than  go  back  and  come  up  via  Newport. 

Steamers  were  also  running  to  New  York,  beginning 
with  the  Eudora,  a  propeller,  which  began  making  schedule 
trips  about  once  a  week  early  in  1845. 

What  later  became  the  Fall  River  Line  had  its  beginning 
in  1846,  when  the  Bay  State  Steamboat  Co.  was  organized 
and  began  passenger  service  with  two  steamers,  the  Bay  State 
and  the  Massachusetts.  They  were  the  first  to  approach  the 
modern  standard  of  Sound  steamers,  and  served  as  models  for 
those  subsequently  built.  The  Bay  State  was  in  service  17 
years,  and  was  dismantled  in  1864,  when  her  hull  was  con- 
verted into  a  barge  and  her  engine  placed  in  the  Old  Colony. 

Soon  after  the  line  was  opened  another  steamer  was 
needed,  and  the  Rhode  Island  was  chartered  until  the  Empire 

24 


State  was  ready.  The  latter,  built  for  the  service,  was 
completed  in  1848,  and  remained  in  use  on  the  line  till  1871, 
when  she  was  sold  and  later  used  as  an  excursion  boat  running 
out  of  Boston.  She  ended  her  days  by  burning  at  the  dock 
at  Bristol,  R.  I.  May  14th,  1887.  Next  was  the  State  of  Maine, 
which  had  been  built  for  a  line  projected  between  Boston  and 
Portland,  but  which  was  never  employed  there  and  was  sold 
to  the  Fall  River  Line  soon  after  her  completion.  She  joined 
the  fleet  in  1850  and  remained  in  service  till  1863.  The 
Metropolis  followed  in  1854,  and  was  the  finest  boat  of  the 
period. 

Between  1840  and  1860  a  half  dozen  or  more  whale  ships 
were  fitted  out  here  and  sent  on  cruises,  though  after  the  dis- 
covery of  gold  in  California  most  of  them  were  used  in  trans- 
porting passengers  and  freight  to  the  Pacific  coast.  The 
wharf  where  they  discharged  their  cargoes  was  on  Davol 
street,  being  the  one  occupied  by  Pardee  &  Young  Co. 

The  Fall  River  railroad  was  opened  for  travel  June  9, 
1845.  It  ran  to  Myricks,  where  connection  was  made  with 
trains  by  which  one  could  reach  Boston  over  the  New  Bedford 
and  Taunton,  the  Taunton  Branch  and  the  Boston  and  Provi- 
dence railroads.  The  station  was  just  south  of  the  Central 
street  tunnel,  but  was  discontinued  and  a  new  station  erected 
on  the  wharf  when  the  steamboat  line  to  New  York  was 
opened. 

FALL  RIVER  A  CITY 


Fall  River  became  a  city  in  1854,  adopting  a  seal  with  the 
motto  ''We'll  Try."  It  then  had  a  population  of  more  than 
12,000,  a  valuation  of  $8,939,215  and  an  annual  tax  of  $56,000. 
It  had  school,  fire  and  police  departments,  churches,  mills, 
railroad  and  steamship  lines,  and  was  a  thriving  and  vigorous 
town,  well  equipped  to  assume  the  duties  of  the  11th  city  of 
the  commonwealth. 

The  change,  from  town  to  city  government,  appears  to 
have  been  generally  desired,  and  steps  toward  bringing  it 
about  were  taken  at  a  town  meeting  on   Jan.  5,  1854,  one 

25 


article  of  the  warrant  for  which  was,  "to  see  what  action  if 
any  the  Town  will  take  in  relation  to  obtaining  a  City  Charter. " 
A  committee  was  appointed,  consisting  of  Foster  Hooper,  chair- 
man. John  Westall,  N.  B.  Borden,  Israel  Buffinton,  Thomas 
Wilbur,  Robert  C.  Brown,  Eliab  Williams,  Samuel  L.  Thaxter 
and  Louis  Lapham,  to  petition  the  legislature  and  draft  a 
proposed  charter.  Mr.  Westall  declined  to  serve,  and  Benja- 
min Earl  was  appointed  in  his  place.  The  Committee  reported 
a  charter  and  after  some  amendments  it  was  submitted  to  the 
legislature.  The  desired  act  of  incorporation  was  secured 
April  12,  1854,  and  approved  by  the  voters  of  the  town  at  a 
meeting  on  April  22  by  a  vote  of  529  to  247. 

The  charter  provided  for  the  election  of  a  mayor,  the  divi- 
sion of  the  city  into  six  wards,  the  electionof  a  board  of  alder- 
men of  six  members,  one  from  each  ward,  and  of  a  common 
council  composed  of  three  members  from  each  ward.  It  also 
provided  for  the  establishing  of  fire  and  police  departments. 

The  first  city  election  was  held  on  May  6,  resulting  in 
the  choice  of  James  Buffinton,  afterwards  congressman,  for 
mayor,  and  James  Henry,  Edward  P.  Buffinton,  Oliver  H. 
Hathaway,  Alvan  S.  Ballard,  Edwin  Shaw  and  Julius  B. 
Champney  for  aldermen.  The  new  government  was  inaugu- 
rated at  the  city  hall  on  May  15,  with  prayer,  the  administer- 
ing of  the  oaths  of  office  and  addresses  by  Chester  W.  Greene, 
chairman  of  the  selectmen,  and  the  mayor. 

Mayor  Buffinton  was  re-elected  in  the  following  year,  but 
resigned  on  his  election  to  Congress,  and  was  succeeded  by 
Edward  P.  Buffinton.  followed" in  1857  by  Nathaniel  B.  Borden; 
in  1858  and  1859  by  Josiah  C.  Blaisdell,  and  in  1860  again  by 
Edward  P.  Buffinton,  who  remained  in  office  throughout  the 
war,  and  until  1867. 

One  of  the  first  important  acts  of  the  new  city  government 
was  the  purchase  of  47  acres  of  land  in  1855,  at  $200  an  acre 
for  a  burial  ground,  and  called  Oak  Grove  Cemetery.  At  this 
time  the  city  traded  a  tract  of  land  between  North  Main  street 
and  present  Highland  avenue,  on  both  sides  of  present  Lincoln 
avenue,  which  the  town  had  bought  for  a  park  in  1853. 

During  the  summer  of  1854,  this  city,  as  did  many  others, 
sufi^ered  from  an  outbreak  of  cholera,  which,  before  it  was 

26 


stamped  out  in  October,  caused  the  death  of  130  persons. 
Only  the  most  stringent  quarantine  regulations  prevented 
much  greater  ravages  of  the  disease. 

The  panic  of  1857  caused  much  suffering,  as  nearly  all  the 
mills  were  obliged  to  close, and  in  November  only  two  were  in 
operation.  To  meet  the  situation,  on  recommendation  of 
Mayor  Borden,  large  numbers  of  men  were  given  work  by  the 
city,  at  ten  cents  an  hour,  at  the  cemetery  and  poor  farm  and 
on  the  highways.  About  the  close  of  the  year,  however,  the 
New  York  banks  resumed  payment,  and  the  stringency  was 
reheved,  allowing  the  resumption  of  work  in  the  mills. 

The  following  year  some  dissatisfaction  was  felt  with  the 
city  charter,  and  an  attempt  was  made  to  secure  a  return  to 
the  town  form  of  government.  A  public  meeting  attended 
by  some  400  citizens  showed,  however,  that  sentiment  was 
about  two  to  one  in  favor  of  continuing  with  the  existing 
government,  and  the  agitation  subsided. 

The  annual  municipal  election  had  been  held  on  the  first 
Monday  in  March,  but  in  1860  this  was  changed  to  the  first 
Monday  in  December  and  the  municipal  year  modified  so  as  to 
begin  in  January.  The  date  of  the  election  was  later  changed 
to  the  Tuesday  after  the  first  Monday. 

In  the  same  year,  1860,  a  public  library  was  established, 
though  deserving  pupils  in  the  public  schools  had  since  1837 
been  entitled,  in  consideration  of  a  payment  of  $800  by  the 
town,  to  the  use  of  the  books  of  the  Athenaeum,  a  private 
Hbrary  organized  in  1835.  Most  of  the  volumes  in  its  collection 
were  destroyed  by  the  fire  of  1843,  but  a  new  library  had  now 
been  collected,  housed  first  in  the  town  hall  and  subsequently 
in  the  old  Music  hall  on  Franklin  street.  Through  an  agree- 
ment with  the  stockholders  of  the  Athenaeum  the  city  obtained 
its  collection  of  2,362  volumes,  to  which  were  added  by  gift 
214  belonging  to  the  Ocean  Fire  Company,  and  with  these  the 
library  was  opened  for  use,  in  the  southwest  corner  of  the 
second  floor  of  the  city  hall  building,  May  1,  1861.  This  was 
but  nine  years  after  the  founding,  in  Boston,  of  the  first  free 
public  library  in  the  world  supported  by  general  taxation. 

A  beginning  of  a  modern  fire  department  was  made  in 
1859,  when  the  first  steam  fire  engine  was  purchased,  and  in 

27 


1860  the  first  permanent  member  of  the  department  was 
engaged  as  its  driver. 

The  making  of  flour  was  a  considerable  industry  at  one 
time,  and  there  were  three  plants  engaged  in  this  business. 
The  first  of  these  was  the  Bristol  Count.y  Flour  Mills,  erected 
in  1852,  at  the  corner  of  Central  and  Davol  streets,  which  had 
a  capacity  of  80  barrels  a  day.  The  Massasoit  Flour  Mills, 
where  the  Massasoit  Mfg.  Co.  now  stands,  had  a  capacity  of  200 
barrels  a  day,  and  continued  till  the  late  seventies.  At  the 
foot  of  Central  street  the  Fall  River  Flour  Mills  were  started 
in  18G1  and  were  smaller  than  either  of  the  others. 

A  most  important  step  in  the  development  of  the  city's 
industries  was  made  in  1859,  in  the  organization  of  the  Union 
Mill  Co.  the  first  corporation  whose  capital  was  secured  by 
public  subscription.  Before  this  time  the  manufacturing 
corporations  had  been  in  the  hands  of  comparatively  few 
interests,  but  now,  funds  were  secured  aggregating  $175,000, 
in  shares  of  $1,000  each,  and  a  mill  of  15,000  spindles  was 
erected.  Its  success  brought  about  the  starting  of  many  other 
new  mills,  the  Granite  in  1863,  the  Robeson,  Tecumseh 
and  Durfee  in  1866,  the  Merchants  and  Davol  in  1867,  the 
Mechanics  in  1868  and  many  others  within  the  next  decade, 
among  them,  the  first  fine  goods  mill,  the  King  Philip,  in  1871. 

The  news  of  the  firing  on  Fort  Sumter  aroused  a  storm  of 
patriotic  feeling.  At  a  crowded  public  meeting  in  city  hall  on 
April  19,  1861,  the  day  the  Massachusetts  troops  were  attacked 
in  the  streets  of  Baltimore,  speeches  were  made  by  many 
prominent  men  of  the  city  and  resolutions  adopted  by  acclama- 
tion, declaring  that  the  government  of  the  Union  must  be 
sustained  and  calling  on  the  city  to  appropriate  $10,000  for 
the  aid  of  those  who  might  volunteer  and  for  the  support  of 
their  families,  and  to  pay  each  volunteer  $20  a  month  in  addition 
to  what  the  government  offered.  Five  days  later  the  city 
council  appropriated  the  $10,000  as  requested,  and  voted  to 
pay  $15  each  month  for  every  volunteer. 

The  city  was  the  third  in  the  list  of  applicants  to  Governor 
Andrew  for  permission  to  raise  military  companies.  Enlist- 
ments had  already  begun  under  Lieutenant  Gushing,  who  had 
seen  service  in  the  Mexican  war,  while  Chester  W.  Greene 

28 


organized  a  rifle  company.  These  were  companies  A  and  B 
of  the  Seventh  Regiment  and  were  mustered  in  on  June  11. 
A  third  company  was  also  formed,  but  it  was  decided  not  to 
muster  this  in,  and  it  was  disbanded. 

In  addition  to  the  first  two  companies  of  the  Seventh 
regiment,  the  city  furnished  Company  G  of  the  26th,  mus- 
tered in  Oct.  18,  1861,  which  served  three  years,  Companies 
C  and  D  of  the  3rd  and  a  large  part  of  F  and  G  of  the  58th, 
which  left  for  the  front  the  last  of  April,  1864.  It  also  con- 
tributed many  men  to  other  regiments  and  497  to  the  navy. 
In  all  1,770  men  went  to  the  front,  including  820  for  three 
years,  207  for  nine  months,  192  for  three  months  and  37  for 
one  year.  The  total  appropriations  by  the  city  government  on 
account  of  the  war  were  $107,828,  and  $127,510  were  expended 
in  the  aid  of  soldiers'  families.  The  troops  on  their  return 
from  the  field,  either  on  furlough  or  at  the  expiration  of  duty, 
were  greeted  with  parades,  the  decoration  of  buildings  and 
public  exercises,  and  on  occasions  when  the  few  Southern 
sympathizers  dared  express  their  feelings,  they  promptly 
received  treatment  that  showed  the  attitude  of  the  citizens  in 
no  uncertain  manner. 

The  news  of  the  fall  of  Richmond  was  announced  by  the 
general  ringing  of  bells,  and  when  it  became  known  that  Lee 
had  surrendered,  the  bells  were  again  rung,  cannon  fired,  the 
Light  Infantry  paraded,  schools  dismissed  and  work  generally 
suspended.  A  large  meeting  was  held  in  the  city  hall  in  the 
evening,  presided  over  by  the  mayor. 

During  the  war  a  final  settlement  was  reached  of  the 
vexed  question  of  the  state  boundary  line,  which  had  been  a 
subject  of  controversy  for  many  years.  The  matter  had  been 
carried  to  the  supreme  court  of  the  United  States,  and  in 
1861  a  decision  was  obtained  which  went  into  effect  in  March 
of  the  following  year,  by  which  the  line  was  moved  from  a 
point  a  short  distance  north  of  Columbia  street  to  its  present 
location. 

The  old  line,  which  ran  from  near  the  corner  of  William 
and  Bay  streets  easterly  through  the  old  button  wood  tree  that 
long  stood  on  the  east  side  of  South  Main  street,  a  short  dis- 
tance north  of  Columbia  had  been  established  in  1741  by  a 

royal  commission. 

29 


The  chang-e  annexed  to  the  city,  the  town  of  Fall  River, 
Rhode  Island,  which  by  its  request  had  been  set  apart  from 
Tiverton  by  the  Rhode  Island  legislature  Oct,  6,  1856.  This 
had  an  area  of  about  nine  square  miles,  a  population  of  3,593 
and  a  valuation  of  $1,948,378.  The  town  had  been  closely 
allied  with  the  city,  and  the  merger  was  of  the  greatest 
advantage  to  both. 

The  war  period  also  saw  a  great  improvement  in  the  rail- 
road facilities  of  the  city,  through  the  extension  of  the  exist- 
ing road  to  Newport  in  1863  and  the  construction  of  a  line  to 
Providence  two  years  later.  The  first  passenger  train  to 
Stone  Bridge  was  run  on  Nov.  19,  1863,  and  the  first  to  New- 
port on  the  26th  of  the  same  month.  The  railroad  from 
Warren  to  South  Somerset,  where  connection  was  made  with 
a  ferryboat  to  this  city,  had  been  begun  in  the  same  year,  but 
scarcity  of  labor,  high  cost  of  materials  and  severe  weather 
combined  to  cause  delay,  and  it  was  not  until  May  22,  1865, 
that  the  first  train  was  run  over  this  line.  Connection  was 
made  with  a  ferryboat  landing  at  the  foot  of  Ferry  street. 

Two  toll  roads  within  the  city  limits  were  discontinued 
about  this  time.  One  of  these  was,  what  is  now  Pleasant 
street,  east  of  Quarry,  near  which  a  toll  house  and  gate 
stood.  This  road  which  had  been  built  in  1827,  started  from 
Twelfth  street,  and  continued  into  Westport.  It  was  called 
the  Watuppa  Turnpike,  and  was  owned  by  a  stock  company, 
known  as  the  Fall  River  and  Watuppa  Turnpike  Corporation, 
which  was  reimbursed  when  the  toll  road  was  made  a  public 
thoroughfare  by  the  county  commissioners  in  1865.  Previous 
to  that  time  the  Old  Bedford  Road,  now  County  street  was 
available  as  a  public  highway  for  those  who  did  not  wish  to 
pay  toll,  but  it  was  not  kept  in  good  repair. 

The  second  toll  road  ran  from  the  corner  of  Chace  and 
Bay  streets,  where  the  gate  was  situated,  nearly  to  Stone 
Bridge.  So  much  of  it  as  was  within  the  city  limits,  was 
opened  to  the  public  by  the  aldermen  in  1863. 

Soon  after  the  close  of  the  war,  the  first  large  numbers 
of  French  Canadians,  who  have  since  become  so  considerable 
an  element  in  the  population,  began  to  come  here.  The  city's 
industries  were  prosperous,  the  demand  for  labor  was  keen, 

30 


and  the  early-comers,  who  soon  found  employment,  sent  for 
others,  resulting  in  a  large  immigration. 

Meantime,  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  growing  community, 
progress  had  been  made  in  various  directions.  The  Wamsutta 
Bank,  afterwards  the  Second  National,  had  been  started  in 
1856,  and  in  1864  the  First  National.  A  third  savings  bank, 
the  Fall  River  Five  Cents  Savings,  was  opened  in  1856  and  the 
Union  Savings  followed  in  1869.  The  free  delivery  of  mail 
had  also  been  put  into  effect  in  1863,  and  the  first  superin- 
tendent of  schools  in  the  city  elected  in  1865. 

The  churches  had  been  active,  and  between  1850  and  1860 
the  edifices  now  occupied  by  the  First  Baptist,  the  United 
Presbyterian,  St.  Paul's  Methodist  Episcopal  and  St.  Mary's 
Roman  Catholic,  had  been  added  to  the  city's  notable  struc- 
tures. 

Mayor  Buffinton  had  been  succeeded  in  1867  by  George  0. 
Fairbanks,  who  served  two  years,  and  in  1869  by  Samuel  M. 
Brown,  who  remained  in  office  until  1872.  Especially  notable 
in  Mayor  Fairbanks'  administration  was  the  erection  of  the 
Morgan  street  school,  now  known  as  the  N.  B.  Borden,  the 
first  large  school  building  and  the  first  to  be  constructed  of 
other  material  than  wood,  the  purchase  of  the  South  Park 
and  the  laying  out  and  working  of  Highland  road. 

From  a  population  of  about  12,000  at  the  time  it  became 
a  city,  Fall  River  had  advanced  to  17,525  by  the  end  of  the 
Civil  War.  In  the  five  years  that  followed,  it  added  nearly 
10,000  inhabitants,  and  the  census  of  1870  showed  a  popula- 
tion of  27,191.  The  valuation  in  that  period  grew  from 
$12,000,000  to  $26,000,000,  and  the  number  of  spindles  in 
operation  from  265, 328  to  544, 606.  It  had  made  great  strides, 
but  even  greater  were  to  follow. 

1871-1890 

The  period  of  1871  and  1872  will  long  be  recalled  as 
remarkable  for  the  wonderfully  rapid  increase  in  the  city's 
industries  and  corresponding  growth  in  wealth  and  popula- 
tion.    Fifteen  new  corporations  were  formed  and  began  the 

31 


erection  of  large  mills,  eleven  of  which  were  constructed  in 
a  single  year,  1872.  From  this  period  date  the  Stafford, 
Weetamoe,  Slade,  Richard  Borden,  Wampanoag,  Narragan- 
sett.  King  Philip,  Crescent,  Osborn,  Chace,  Montaup,  Flint, 
Border  City,  Sagamore,  Shove  and  Barnard,  as  well  as  the 
Fall  River  Bleachery.  The  mills  built  in  the  previous  decade 
had  prospered,  confidence  was  strong  and  capital  easy  to 
secure. 

Land  values  doubled  and  trebled,  carpenters  and  masons 
were  everywhere  in  demand  and  the  city  grew  as  it  had 
never  grown  before.  Nearly  nine  million  dollars  were  added 
to  its  taxable  valuation  in  a  single  year.  The  new  factories 
gave  employment  to  6,000  additional  hands,  and  newcomers 
with  their  families  poured  in  from  every  side.  In  the  four 
years  between  1870  and  1874  more  than  15,000  inhabitants 
were  added  to  the  city,  increasing  the  population  to  43,289. 

It  was  at  this  period  that  the  very  rapid  growth  of 
the  eastern  section  of  the  city,  popularly  known  as  Flint 
Village,  began.  It  had  until  this  time  been  sparsely  settled 
farming  land,  but  the  first  mills  were  so  quickly  followed  by 
others,  that  a  considerable  community  speedily  grew  up,  and 
the  vacant  land  was  soon  covered  with  buildings.  To-day  a 
territory,  that  in  1870  was  almost  entirely  given  up  to  agri- 
culture, is  covered  with  what  is  in  itself  a  small  city. 

The  northern  section  called  Border  City,  and  the  southern 
section  embracing  Globe  Village  also  began  their  rapid 
development  at  this  time,  for  mills  were  built  there  as  well 
as  at  the  east  end.  The  growth  of  the  Stafford  Road  and 
Maplewood  districts  is  more  recent. 

Better  highways,  schools  and  fire  protection  were  required 
and  furnished.  In  the  closing  years  of  Mayor  Brown's  ad- 
ministration, and  in  that  of  Robert  T.  Davis,  who  was  the 
chief  executive  of  the  city  in  1873,  important  highway  improve- 
ments were  made,  including  the  widening  of  North  Main, 
South  Main  and  Pleasant  streets. 

Three  large  schools  were  ordered,  the  Slade,  Davis  and 
Davenport,  two  of  which  were  begun,  and  work  started  on 
three  fire  and  police  stations  at  the  north,  east  and  south  ends 
of  the  city.  In  the  public  schools,  in  1874,  text  books  were 
made  free  to  the  pupils. 

32 


Still  other  municipal  work  at  this  time  was  the  laying  out 
of  the  South  Park  in  1871  and  the  rebuilding  of  the  city  hall, 
to  meet  the  demand  for  additional  offices.  A  mansard  roof, 
tower  and  clock  were  added  at  a  total  cost  of  $200,000. 

Even  more  important  was  the  construction  of  the  water 
works  system.  This  had  been  urged  for  years,  but  it  was 
not  until  1870  after  an  analysis  of  the  water  in  the  wells  had 
shown  a  dangerous  condition,  while  that  in  the  North  Watuppa 
when  analyzed  proved  to  be  unusually  pure,  that  the  first 
steps  were  taken  toward  the  construction  of  a  system.  Forty- 
eight  acres  of  land  at  the  head  of  Bedford  street  were  pur- 
chased, and  an  engineer  engaged  to  prepare  plans.  In  March, 
1871,  the  legislature  authorized  the  project,  and  it  was 
approved  by  the  voters  at  an  election  on  April  10,  at  which 
933  voted  in  favor  of  it  and  only  89  against. 

The  first  board  of  water  commissioners,  Philip  D.  Borden, 
William  Lindsey  and  Joseph  A.  Bowen,  was  elected  the 
following  spring  and  in  the  fall,  work  was  begun  on  the  con- 
struction of  a  road,  nearly  a  mile  and  a  half  long,  which  it 
was  necessary  to  build  to  the  site  selected  for  a  pumping 
station.  The  foundations  for  the  buildings  were  built  in  1872 
and  the  superstructure  was  completed  the  next  year.  These 
included  a  granite  tower  for  standpipes,  121  feet  high,  the 
balcony  of  which,  situated  72  feet  above  the  base,  is  324  feet 
above  sea  level.  The  laying  of  mains  had  meantime  been  in 
progress,  and  by  September,  1876,  45  miles  of  pipe  from  6 
to  24  inches  in  diameter,  had  been  installed.  An  engine  had 
been  put  in,  in  1873  and  pumped  the  first  water  through  the 
mains  in  December  of  that  year,  though  it  was  not  until  Jan. 
8,  1874,  that  it  was  available  for  public  use.  A  second  pump 
was  added  in  1875.  The  cost  of  the  water  system  to  Oct.  1, 
1876,  was  $1,328,456. 

With  a  water  works  system  in  operation,  the  city  now 
turned  its  attention  to  the  building  of  sewers,  and  in  the 
administration  of  James  F.  Davenport,  who  was  mayor  from 
1874  to  1877,  large  sums  were  expended  on  this  work. 
Following  substantially  the  plans  which  had  been  prepared  by 
Phinehas  Ball  in  1873,  a  total  of  9,329  feet  were  constructed 
in  1874  at  a  cost  of  more  than  $70,000.     Practically  $100,000 

33 


was  used  in  1876,  when  more  than  four  miles  of  sewers  were 
built. 

Other  notable  city  work  at  this  period  included  the 
erection  of  the  large  Davenport  school,  and  the  construction 
of  a  fire  station  on  Plymouth  avenue  and  a  new  city  hospital. 

The  new  Central  Congregational  Church  and  the  Church 
of  the  Ascension  were  erected  in  1875  and  the  former  dedi- 
cated at  this  time.  The  Borden  Block,  containing  the  Academy 
of  Music,  was  opened  on  Jan.  6,  1876.  The  railroad  between 
this  city  and  New  Bedford  had  likewise  been  completed,  and 
the  first  passenger  train  run  over  it  on  Dec.  16,  1875. 

It  was  at  this  period,  too,  that  Slade's  Ferry  bridge  was 
built,  doing  away  with  the  old  ferryboat  system  and  furnish- 
ing much  more  convenient  communication  between  the  city 
and  the  towns  on  the  west  side  of  the  Taunton  river,  as  well 
as  the  running  of  Providence  trains  directly  to  the  city.  This 
bridge,  which  was  opened  to  the  public  on  Jan.  4,  1876,  had 
been  authorized  by  the  legislature  in  1872  and  was  begun  in 
October  two  years  later.  It  was  completed  except  for  the 
approaches  on  Nov.  9,  1875.  It  is  955  feet  long  and  20  feet 
wide  and  cost  $305,000,  of  which  the  county  paid  $41,361,  the 
city  $26,000,  Somerset  $5,200,  Swansea  $3,200  and  the  Old 
Colony  Railroad  Company  the  remainder.  During  its  con- 
struction five  men  were  killed  by  the  bursting  of  an  air 
chamber,  Dec.  4,  1874.  The  first  train  was  run  across  it  Dec. 
6,  1875. 

Prior  to  the  erection  of  the  bridge,  a  ferry  had  long  been 
maintained  here  by  members  of  the  Slade  family,  established 
by  William  Slade,  soon  after  he  settled  in  Somerset  in  1689. 
Rowboats  were  used  at  first,  then  sailboats  and  later,  begin- 
ning in  1826,  a  boat  propelled  b.y  horses,  on  which  the  stages 
could  cross.  The  steamer  Faith  succeeded  the  horseboat  in 
1847,  followed  by  the  Weetamoe  in  1859,  and  was  used  till  the 
bridge  was  opened  to  travel.  The  fare  was  established  by 
the  county  commissioners. 

In  1863,  following  the  extension  of  the  Old  Colony  Rail- 
road to  Newport,  the  Bay  State  Steamboat  Co.,  which  estab- 
lished the  Fall  River  Line,  transferred  its  steamboats  to  the 
Boston,  Newport  &  New  York  Steamboat  Co.  and  withdrew 

34 


from  business.  The  new  line  established  its  terminal  at 
Newport,  and  in  1865  added  two  new  steamers,  the  Newport 
and  the  Old  Colony,  to  its  fleet. 

The  steamers  Bristol  and  Providence,  contracted  for  by 
a  line  from  New  York  to  Groton  which  failed,  were  completed 
in  1867,  and  in  1868  and  1869  they  were  run  between  New 
York  and  Bristol  by  the  Narragansett  Steamship  Co.,  in 
which  "Jim"  Fiske  was  active.  They  were  so  far  in  advance 
of  previous  models  that  they  were  looked  on  as  marvels,  and 
their  fame  was  world-wide.  Each  boat  had  a  band,  and  the 
officers  and  crew  wore  uniforms,  innovations  which  helped 
to  make  the  line  famous.  In  1869  the  company  which  had 
acquired  the  Fall  River  Line  succumbed  to  its  Bristol  rival,  and 
the  steamboats  Bay  State,  Empire  State,  Metropolis,  New- 
port and  Old  Colony  were  added  to  the  fleet  of  the  Narragan- 
sett Co.,  which  soon  after  removed  its  terminus  from  Bristol 
to  Fall  River,  discontinuing  the  line  between  Newport  and 
New  York.  This  was  in  1869,  and  this  port  has  since  re- 
mained the  eastern  terminus.  In  1874  the  line  was  acquired 
by  the  Old  Colony  Steamboat  Co.,  a  corporation  organized  by 
the  interests  that  controlled  the  Old  Colony  Railroad  Co. 

The  steamer  Pilgrim,  the  first  steamboat  on  Long  Island 
Sound  to  be  built  of  iron, took  her  place  on  the  line  in  June, 
1883,  the  Puritan  in  1889,  the  Plymouth  in  1890,  the  Priscilla 
in  1894,  the  Providence,  the  second  of  that  name,  in  1905 
and  the  Commonwealth  in  1908.  The  Plymouth  was  burned 
at  her  dock  in  Newport  in  1906,  while  undergoing  repairs, 
but  was  rebuilt  and  placed  in  service  again  the  following 
year.  Such  magnificent  boats  as  these  have  made  the  Fall 
River  Line  famous  the  world  over. 

Since  1894  the  line  has  been  controlled  by  the  New  York, 
New  Haven  &  Hartford  Railroad  Co. 

In  1874  the  steamer  Richard  Borden  of  785  tons  was 
placed  on  the  Providence  Line.  The  narrowness  of  the 
Providence  river  made  it  very  difficult  for  boats  to  turn  and 
this  boat  was  constructed  as  a  "double  ender, "  that  is,  to  run 
in  either  direction  much  the  same  as  a  ferry  boat;  she  was 
unusually  fast,  accommodated  a  large  number  of  passengers 
and  became  very  popular.     After  many  years  she  was  sold  to 

35 


the  Joy  Line  and  re-named  The  Fairfield.  She  then  ran  from 
New  York  on  the  Bridgeport  Line  and  was  dismantled  in  1910. 

In  1888  the  Mount  Hope  of  880  tons,  built  in  Boston,  was 
placed  on  the  line  to  run  to  Block  Island.  This  boat  was  both 
swift  and  staunch  and  still  makes  regular  trips  in  the  summer 
between  Providence  and  Block  Island,  calling  at  Newport. 

Soon  after  1900  the  passenger  service  which  had  been 
maintained  between  Providence  and  Fall  River  since  1828  was 
discontinued.  Freight  boats  were  run  until  1905  when  the 
company  withdrew  from  the  service. 

The  line  was  run  as  a  part  of  the  Fall  River  Iron  Works 
Company  from  its  inception  in  1828  until  1880,  when  it  was 
incorporated  as  the  Fall  River  &  Providence  Steamboat  Com- 
pany. In  1896  it  was  sold  to  the  Providence,  Fall  River  & 
Newport  Steamboat  Company  which  continues  business, 
although  it  has  withdrawn  from  this  port,  finding  it  unprofit- 
able to  compete  with  the  electric  railroads  between  this  city 
and  Providence. 

A  freight  line  is  now  in  existence  under  the  name  of  the 
Dyer  Transportation  Co.,  while  the  freight  steamers  of  the 
Merchants  &  Miners  Transportation  Co.  make  this  city  a  port 
of  call  for  the  Philadelphia-Providence  steamers. 

The  federal  government  recognizing  the  growing  import- 
ance of  the  city,  authorized  the  erection  of  the  handsome 
postoffice  and  custom  house  on  Bedford  street.  This  was 
begun  in  1875  and  completed  in  1880,  at  a  total  cost  of  $518,000, 
of  which  $132,000  was  for  land. 

The  first  session  of  the  superior  court  was  held  here  on 
June  27,  1877,  in  a  large  room  in  the  new  Borden  Block, 
where  sittings  continued  to  be  held  till  the  North  Main  street 
court  house  was  ready  for  use.  Until  1877,  sessions  were  held 
in  this  county  only  in  Taunton  and  New  Bedford. 

A  further  addition  to  the  steamship  facilities  of  the  port 
had  been  made  in  1876,  when  the  Clyde  Line  made  this  the 
terminus  for  its  Philadelphia  steamers. 

The  city  had  suffered  in  the  panic  of  1873  and  in  "The 
Great  Vacation"  of  1875,  when  the  mills  were  closed  for  nine 
weeks  during  the  summer,  but  these  were  mild  in  com- 
parison with  the  losses  caused  through  financial  irregularities 

36 


in  certain  corporations  that  came  to  light  in  1878  and  1879. 
These  caused  the  reorganization  of  several  of  the  mills  and 
severe  losses  to  many  individuals.  Savings  banks  were 
restrained  from  paying  more  than  ten  per  cent,  of  deposits 
within  six  months.  Dividends  were  suspended  for  a  time, 
and  depositors  sold  their  books  for  as  low  as  70  cents  on  the 
dollar.  The  blow  was  a  hard  one  to  the  community,  but  it 
kept  its  courage  and  went  to  work  with  an  energy  that  again 
won  success. 

The  Granite  Mill  fire  which  occurred  on  the  morning  of 
September  19,  1874,  and  cost  the  lives  of  20  workers  and  the 
injury  of  30  more,  will  long  be  remembered.  It  taught  the 
need  of  improved  methods  of  escape  in  other  mills,  and  they 
were  installed  at  once. 

Crawford  E.  Lindsey  was  mayor  in  1879  and  1880,  and 
in  his  administration  sewer  and  highway  work  were  again 
pushed  forward,  and  a  board  of  health  established,  with 
B.  F.  Winslow,  J.  S.  Anthony  and  C.W.  Copelandas  members. 
The  city  stables  were  removed  from  the  building  now  occupied 
by  the  police  department  as  a  central  station,  and  the  build- 
ing remodelled  so  as  to  give  the  police,  who  had  occupied 
only  part  of  the  structure,  the  entire  building  with  the 
exception  of  that  occupied  by  the  second  district  court  on 
the  second  floor. 

The  last  half  of  the  decade  from  1870  to  1880  saw  a  com- 
parative lull  in  mill  building,  and  though  existing  plants  were 
somewhat  extended,  the  total  spindles  added  during  this 
period  numbered  about  120,000.  The  population,  too,  was 
growing  much  more  slowly,  and  from  45,160  in  1875  had 
reached  but  47,883  in  1880.  The  city,  however,  was  gaining 
strength  for  another  great  advance  in  the  coming  ten  years, 
and  was  putting  on  more  and  more  the  aspect  of  a  modern 
municipality. 

It  already  had  the  beginning  of  a  telephone  system, 
installed  in  the  late  70s,  and  in  1880  the  first  street  cars  were 
put  in  use,  drawn,  of  course,  by  horses,  and  running  first  on 
Main  and  Pleasant  streets,  though  in  the  beginning  for  only 
a  part  of  the  present  distance  of  the  lines.  Three  years  later, 
in  1883,  electricity  was  introduced  in  the  city  and  began  to 
compete  with  gas  for  the  illuminating  field. 

37 


The  Troy  Co-operative  Bank,  the  first  of  the  four 
institutions  of  this  nature  which  now  hold  large  sums  collected 
through  the  savings  of  the  citizens,  was  established  in  1880, 
followed  by  the  People's  in  1882,  and  the  Fall  River  in 
1888.  New  homes  were  needed  by  the  First  National  Bank, 
the  Fall  River  National,  the  Massasoit  and  the  Metacomet, 
and  suitable  buildings  were  erected  between  1887  and 
1892. 

The  industries  of  the  city  after  1880,  began  to  move  for- 
ward, and,  beginning  in  1881,  the  city  saw  the  formation 
before  the  end  of  the  decade,  of  the  Globe  Yarn,  which 
erected  three  mills,  the  Laurel  Lake,  the  Barnaby,  for  the 
manufacture  of  ginghams,  the  Seaconnet,  the  Hargraves  and 
the  Kerr  Thread.  It  also  saw  the  erection  of  new  mills 
by  the  Durfee,  Sagamore,  Richard  Borden,  Border  City, 
Tecumseh,  and  Stafford  corporations  and  the  construction 
of  the  first  of  the  seven  large  mills  of  the  Fall  River  Iron 
Works  Co. ,  a  corporation  which  years  before  had  carried  on 
a  large  iron  business  here,  and  which  has  been  maintained 
under  its  old  name,  to  preserve  valuable  rights  given  by  its 
charter,  though  now  engaged  in  cotton  manufacturing. 

Across  the  Rhode  Island  line  in  Tiverton  but  so  near  that 
Fall  River  benefitted  largely  from  them,  were  built  the 
plant  of  the  Bourne  Mills,  and  a  second  mill  of  the  Shove. 
Approximately  800,000  spindles  were  added  at  this  time  bring- 
ing the  total  well  above  the  two  million  mark. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  decade,  too,  in  1887,  a  small  be- 
ginning had  been  made  toward  what  is  now  the  large  hat 
manufacturing  establishment  of  the  Marshall  Brothers, 

The  magnificent  high  school  building  given  by  Mrs,  Mary 
B.  Young  in  memory  of  her  son,  Bradford  Matthew  Chaloner 
Durfee,  was  begun  in  1883  and  completed  on  June  15,  1887, 
when  it  was  with  due  ceremonies  presented  to  the  city, 
accompanied  with  an  endowment  of  $50,000.  Of  beautiful 
proportions  and  placed  on  a  commanding  location,  it  was  a 
splendid  addition  to  the  city  from  an  architectural  as  well  as 
an  educational  point  of  view.  It  has  a  total  length  of  253  feet, 
a  greatest  width  of  90  feet,  with  two  towers,  one  bearing  a 
clock  and  chimes  and  the  other  a  telescope. 

38 


The  record  of  the  city  government  during  the  decade 
shows  a  quiet  but  steady  forward  movement.  WilHam  S. 
Greene  was  mayor  in  1880  and  was  re-elected  in  1881,  but 
resigned  to  become  postmaster  and  was  succeeded  by  Robert 
Henry.  The  office  of  city  engineer  was  established.  The 
Linden  and  Cambridge  street  schools  were  erected  and  the 
city  stables  begun. 

In  1882  and  1883,  Henry  K.  Braley,  now  a  justice  of  the 
supreme  judicial  court  of  Massachusetts,  was  the  chief  execu- 
tive. In  his  term,  electric  street  lighting  was  introduced,  and 
the  North  Park  dedicated  to  park  purposes. 

Milton  Reed  succeeded  Mr.  Braley  in  1884.  Additional 
electric  street  lights  were  erected  and  three  four-room  school 
buildings  erected,  the  Covel  Street,  the  Mt.  Hope  Avenue  and 
the  Brownell  Street. 

John  W.  Cummings,  mayor  in  1885,  was  succeeded  in 
1886  by  William  S.  Greene,  and  returned  to  office  in  1887  and 
1888.  The  burning  of  the  interior  and  roof  of  city  hall,  March 
19,  1886,  leaving  only  the  walls,  and  its  rebuilding  at  a  cost 
of  $300,000;  the  widening  of  South  Main  street  from  Pocasset 
to  Anawan,  to  a  width  of  60  feet,  and  the  dedication  of  the 
new  high  school  are  the  facts  that  stand  outmost  prominently 
in  the  record  of  these  years. 

1890-1911 

In  the  20  years  since  1890  Fall  River  has  continued  to 
make  wonderful  progress.  It  has  added  more  than  45,000 
inhabitants,  increasing  the  number  from  74,918  to  119,295  by 
the  federal  census  of  1910,  a  gain  of  practically  60  per  cent. 
The  assessed  valuation  has  increased  from  $53,473,183  to 
$92,488,520,  a  gain  of  73  per  cent.  The  city  has  come  but 
little  short  of  doubling  the  number  of  spindles  in  its  mills. 

It  has  extended  and  greatly  improved  its  streets, beautified 
its  parks,  protected  the  purity  of  the  water  supply,  added 
playgrounds,  placed  wires  underground,  eliminated  grade 
crossings  and  has  seen  the  building  of  a  handsome  new  bridge 
across  the  Taunton  river. 

39 


Scores  of  beautiful  buildings  have  been  erected,  including- 
those  of  the  superior  and  district  courts,  schools,  the  Boys' 
Club  and  its  extension,  the  Women's  Union,  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association,  the  Public  Library,  the  Armory,  and 
the  churches  of  Notre  Dame  and  Ste.  Anne,  with  the  latter's 
convent  and  rectory.  Five  new  hospitals  have  been  built, 
the  Union,  Ste.  Anne's,  the  Highland,  the  City,  and  the  Con- 
tagious, and  buildings  have  been  erected  for  the  Children's 
Home,  St.  Vincent's  orphanage,  the  Home  for  Aged  People 
and  the  Bishop  Stang  Day  Nursery.  Many  modern  business 
blocks  have  been  constructed,  including  those  of  the  Massa- 
soit-Pocasset  and  Metacomet  National  Banks,  the  Bennett 
building,  the  Daily  Globe  building  and  the  large  department 
stores  on  South  Main  street. 

Fall  River  has  seen  times  of  depression,  but  to-day  is 
bigger,  better  and  stronger  than  ever  before. 

Four  new  manufacturing  corporations  were  formed  here 
in  the  early  90s,  the  Algonquin  Printing  Co.,  the  Sanford 
Spinning  Co.,  the  Stevens  Mfg.  Co.,  and  the  Parker  Mills, 
and  all  erected  large  plants.  The  Fall  River  Iron  Works  Co. 
erected  mills  Nos.  2,  3  and  4,  the  Hargraves  a  No.  2,  the 
Chace  a  No.  2,  the  Tecumseh  a  No.  3,  the  Granite  a  No.  3, 
and  the  Union  a  No.  4,  while  the  King  Philip  put  up  a  large 
weave  shed  and  the  Seaconnet  materially  increased  its 
capacity. 

The  Arkwright  was  incorporated  in  1897,  and  about  this 
time  the  Laurel  Lake  extended  its  plant,  the  Globe  Yarn 
enlarged  and  the  Barnard  and  the  Shove  constructed  weave 
sheds  that  are  small  mills  in  themselves. 

Since  1900  the  Iron  Works  Co.  has  built  two  mills,  the 
Davis  two,  the  Flint,  the  Sagamore  and  the  Stevens  one  each. 
The  Lincoln  Mfg.  Co.  incorporated  in  1906,  has  begun  opera- 
tions. The  Algonquin  Printing  Co.  has  erected  its  largest 
building.  The  Barnard,  the  Narragansett,  the  Weetamoe, 
and  the  Stafford  have  extended  their  plants,  and  the  fact- 
ories of  the  Charlton  Mills,  the  Pilgrim  Mills,  and  the  Stan- 
dard Fabric  Co.  have  been  begun. 

During  the  first  four  years  of  this  period,  ending  with 
1894,  Dr.  John  W.  Coughlin  was  mayor  and  much  was  done 

40 


to  meet  the  needs  of  the  growing  community.  The  fire  dis- 
trict ordinance  was  amended  in  his  first  term,  and  the  poHce 
force  was  enlarged  and  reorganized.  In  1893,  the  Davol  and 
Osborn  schools  were  completed.  The  new  city  hospital  was 
opened,  July  1,  1894,  and  a  city  dispensary  established,  in 
that  year. 

An  important  change  at  this  time  was  in  the  motive  power 
of  the  street  cars,  which  were  equipped  with  electricity  in  the 
summer  of  1892.  The  first  car  was  run  on  Aug.  17,  from  the 
Stafford  road  car  house  to  Morgan  street,  and  on  Sept.  2  the 
first  electric  car  ran  through  the  center  of  the  city.  About 
this  period  also  an  independent  electric  road,  called  the  Fall 
River  Street  Railway,  had  been  built  from  the  corner  of  North 
Main  and  Bank  streets  to  the  Highlands,  which  was  absorbed 
by  the  Globe  Street  Railway  Company  in  April,  1894.  The 
Dartmouth  &  Westport  Street  Railway  to  New  Bedford,  was 
built  in  the  latter  year  and  opened  July  1.  It  has  now  been 
acquired  by  the  Union  Street  Railway  Co.  of  New  Bedford. 

Other  suburban  roads  have  followed.  The  Dighton, 
Somerset  &  Swansea  was  built  in  1895,  but  did  not  give  direct 
service  into  the  city  till  May  5,  1903,  the  Newport  road  in  1898, 
and  the  Providence  line  in  1901.  Electric  express  service  was 
begun  to  New  Bedford  in  1903  and  to  Providence  in  1905,  and 
later  to  Taunton  and  Brockton,  and  a  substantial  freight  house 
built  on  Bedford  street  in  1910.  Electric  street  sprinkling 
dates  from  1905. 

The  steam  road  between  this  city  and  Providence  was 
equipped  with  electricity  in  1900.  The  first  passenger  car 
operated  between  the  two  cities  by  the  new  motive  power 
was  run  Nov.  27,  1900,  and  regular  operations  began  Dec.  2. 

During  the  administration  of  Wjlliam  S.  Greene,  who  had 
been  again  elected  mayor  in  1895  and  held  office  till  1898, 
the  city  began  the  erection  of  its  present  public  library  build- 
ing, which  was  authorized  in  1895  and  begun  in  May  of  the 
following  year  and  which  stands  on  the  site  of  the  homestead 
of  the  late  Mrs.  Mary  B.  Young.  The  cornerstone  was  laid 
Sept.  30,  1896,  and  the  structure,  which,  with  land,  curbing, 
grading  and  furniture,  had  cost  $252,000,  was  opened  to  the 
public  in  March,  1899.     The  library  had  for  13  years,  after 

41 


the  burning  of  city  hall,  been  occupying  leased  quarters.  It 
was  for  a  time  in  Flint's  Exchange  on  South  Main  street  and 
later  in  the  skating  rink  on  Danforth  street,  but  from  January, 
1887,  it  occupied  till  the  new  building  was  completed  a  large 
hall  in  the  upper  part  of  the  Brown  building,  at  the  corner 
of  North  Main  and  Pine  streets. 

In  1895  a  reservoir  commission  was  appointed,  whose 
duty  was  to  protect  the  purity  of  the  city's  w^ater  supply. 
The  Coughlin  and  William  Connell  schools  were  erected  and 
a  new  police  building  constructed  on  the  north  side  of 
Granite  street. 

Amos  M.  Jackson  was  mayor  in  1898  and  1899  and  John 
H.  Abbott  in  1900  and  1901. 

The  superior  court  house  had  been  authorized  as  early  as 
1887.  The  site  selected  on  North  Main  street  had  been  the 
birthplace  of  Col.  Joseph  Durfee,  the  homestead  of  Micah  H. 
Ruggles  and  later  the  residence  of  Col.  Richard  Borden.  The 
cornerstone  was  laid  with  Masonic  ceremonies  on  August  8, 
1889,  and  the  building  completed  in  the  early  nineties,  at  a 
cost  of  $225,000. 

Another  notable  building  constructed  before  1900  was 
the  state  armory,  on  Durfee  street,  between  Elm  and  Bank, 
for  which  the  city  on  January  3,  1895,  authorized  the  expendi- 
ture of  $100,000,  which  sum  was  subsequently  increased  to 
$150,000.  Bonds  were  issued  by  the  state,  eventually  to  be 
met  by  a  sinking  fund  toward  which  the  city  each  year  paid 
a  special  tax.  The  building  was  completed  in  1897,  and  con- 
tains quarters  for  six  companies,  and  a  drill  hall  150  feet  by 
75.    The  State  has  since  taken  possession  of  it. 

During  the  war  with  Spain,  Battery  M,  of  the  First 
Regiment,  and  members  of  the  Naval  Brigade  were  employed 
in  the  service  of  the  United  States.  The  call  for  the  assem- 
bling of  the  battery  was  issued  on  April  25,  1898,  the  day 
war  was  declared,  and  within  an  hour  the  men  were  assem- 
bled, armed  and  equipped.  Early  the  next  day  they  pro- 
ceeded to  Fort  Warren,  in  Boston  harbor,  where,  on  May  9, 
they  were  mustered  into  the  United  States  service,  for  two 
years,  being  a  part  of  the  first  volunteer  regiment  in  the 
country  to  be   mustered   in.     The   Battery  served   at   Fort 

42 


Warren  until  September  19,  when  it  was  sent  to  South 
Framingham.  A  furlough  was  granted  October  5  and  duty 
ended  November  14. 

Company  F,  Naval  Brigade,  saw  service  on  the  cruiser 
Prairie,  the  monitor  Lehigh  and,  on  occasions  when  the  men 
were  on  detached  duty,  on  other  vessels.  The  Signal  Corps 
was  also  called  out.  Company  I,  Naval  Brigade,  was  formed 
May  25,  1898,  as  a  reserve  company. 

The  present  railroad  station  on  North  Main  street  was 
completed  in  1892.  The  county  jail,  noted  for  never  having 
held  a  prisoner,  at  least  under  a  sentence  of  the  court, 
was  erected  in  1898,  under  a  legislative  act  of  the  previous 
year,  and  cost,  when  furnished,  $150,000.  It  has  126  cells, 
and  was  believed  to  be  needed  when  it  was  authorized.  The 
growth  of  the  probation  system  since  that  time,  however,  has 
been  such  that  it  has  never  been  used. 

One  change,  far-reaching  in  its  effect,  which  had  taken 
place  during  this  period  and  of  which  no  mention  has  been 
made,  was  in  the  control  of  the  police  department  and  the 
liquor  licenses,  which  took  place  in  1894.  Citizens  who 
appeared  before  the  legislature  secured  the  passage  of  an  act, 
approved  May  7,  by  which  the  administration  of  the  police 
department  and  the  granting  and  supervision  of  licenses  for 
the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors  were  taken  from  the  board  of 
aldermen  and  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  commission  of  three 
legal  voters  of  the  city  appointed  by  the  governor.  Attempts 
at  various  times  to  abolish  the  commission  have  failed. 

The  decade  closed  with  a  population  in  excess  of  100,000. 
In  spite  of  business  depressions  the  city  had  grown  till  it 
numbered  104,863,  an  increase  of  40  percent.,  while  the  valu- 
ation had  advanced  more  than  $20,000,000.  Almost  900,000 
spindles  had  been  added,  and  the  aggregate  was  3,042,472. 

The  abolition  of  the  grade  crossings  on  the  main  line 
of  the  Old  Colony  railroad  and  on  the  Providence  branch 
within  the  city  limits,  was  one  of  the  most  important  improve- 
ments in  the  early  years  of  the  new  century.  The  work 
began  June  28,  1902,  and  was  completed  June  16, 1905  on  the 
opening  of  the  viaduct  connecting  Central  and  Anawan 
streets  and  the  closing  of  the  Pond  street  crossing. 

43 


The  general  plan  followed,  was  that  of  depressing  the 
streets  and  raising  the  tracks,  which  in  some  cases  are  now 
eight  feet  above  the  old  level.  The  change  also  necessitated 
the  raising  of  the  Fall  River  station  about  eight  feet.  The 
old  Central  street  tunnel,  which  had  been  constructed  when 
the  road  was  first  built,  was  torn  down  and  rebuilt  for  three 
tracks  instead  of  one.  Eleven  crossings  were  abolished,  two 
at  Brownell  street  and  one  each  at  Davol,  Lindsey,  Turner, 
Danforth,  Ferry  and  Pond  streets,  and  Allen's  crossing,  Wil- 
son road  and  Riverview  Gardens.  Seven  railroad  bridges 
were  built,  and  five  highway  bridges,  one  of  which,  the 
viaduct,  is  637  feet  in  length.  It  was  impossible  to  eliminate 
the  grade  crossing  at  Water  street. 

Efi'orts  had  long  been  under  way  to  secure  the  improve- 
ment, but  quite  a  number  of  lives  were  sacrificed  before 
work  was  authorized.  It  had  been  petitioned  for  by  the 
aldermen  in  1894,  and  the  first  hearing  before  the  commis- 
sioners was  in  the  following  year.  The  total  cost  of  the 
work  was  $1,580,051.16,  of  which  the  railroad  paid  65  per 
cent.,  the  state  25  and  the  city  10.  The  engineers'  estimate 
of  cost  was  $1,600,000.  Most  of  the  work  of  construction  was 
done  during  the  administration  of  George  Grime,  who  was 
mayor  from  1902  to  1904,  inclusive. 

Another  important  matter  was  the  adoption  in  1902  of  the 
present  city  charter,  to  take  the  place  of  that  of  1854,  which 
a  majority  of  the  citizens  felt  had  been  outgrown.  A  change 
had  been  urged  for  30  years,  but  it  was  not  until  1901  that  a 
representative  committee  of  30  citizens  presented  a  plan  which 
was  substantially  adopted.  The  charter  proposed  by  this 
committee,  after  some  amendments,  was  passed  by  the  legis- 
lature in  1902  and  accepted  by  the  voters  at  the  State  election 
on  Nov.  4,  1902,  by  a  vote  of  6,835  to  3,689.  It  went  into 
eff'ect  at  the  beginning  of  the  municipal  year  in  January,  1903, 
with  Mr.  Grime,  who  had  just  completed  one  year's  service 
under  the  old  charter,  the  first  mayor  under  the  new. 

The  new  charter  abolished  the  common  council,  and 
established  a  board  of  aldermen  of  27  members,  three  from 
each  of  the  nine  wards.  Two  of  these  were  to  be  elected  by 
the  voters  of  the  ward,  and  one  by  the  voters  of  the  entire 

44 


city.  The  terms  of  the  members  were  made  two  years,  one 
half  to  be  elected  each  year,  and  it  was  provided  that  the 
presiding  officer  should  be  elected  from  the  board  by  the 
members.  The  mayor's  term,  as  well  as  that  of  the  principal 
heads  of  departments,  was  made  two  years,  and  he  was  con- 
stituted strictly  an  executive  officer,  with  control  over  the 
various  departments  except  the  schools  and  the  police.  A  fire 
commission  was  established  with  a  three  years'  term,  and  the 
same  term  was  given  to  the  members  of  the  board  of  health. 
Many  of  the  city  officials  were  to  be  nominated  by  the  mayor 
and  confirmed  by  the  aldermen. 

Mayor  Grime  in  1902  appointed  the  first  park  commission, 
in  accordance  with  the  overwhelming  vote  of  the  citizens  in 
December,  1901,  when  by  a  vote  of  6,563  to  1,159,  they  had 
accepted  the  State  law  authorizing  such  a  commission.  Olm- 
sted Brothers,  landscape  architects,  were  employed  to  prepare 
plans  for  the  improvement  of  the  park  system,  and  the  plans 
submitted  by  them  were  adopted.  Loans  were  authorized, 
and  nearly  $200,000  expended  within  about  four  years, 
resulting  in  a  very  decided  improvement  of  the  park  lands. 
Ruggles  park  was  part  of  a  tract  of  12  acres  formerly  belong- 
ing to  the  "Rodman  farm"  and  known  as  Ruggles  Grove,  pur- 
chased in  1868.  Part  of  the  tract  had  been  taken  for  the 
extension  of  Pine  and  Seabury  streets  and  the  Ruggles 
school,  and  the  section  west  of  Seabury  street  was  sold. 
The  present  park,  of  8^  acres,  was  dedicated  for  park  purposes 
on  June  10,  1895. 

The  South  Park,  which  contains  60  acres,  had  been  pur- 
chased in  1868,  and  laid  out  between  South  Main  street  and 
Broadway  in  1871,  but  the  remainder  was  not  improved  until 
later.  The  North  Park,  29  acres,  was  formerly  a  part  of  the 
city  farm,  but  was  set  aside  for  park  purposes  in  1883,  though 
little  was  done  to  develop  it,  until  after  the  commission  began 
its  work.     Work  is  being  carried  on  at  the  present  time. 

In  addition  to  the  three  large  parks,  the  commission  was 
given  control  of  Durfee  Green,  at  the  junction  of  Highland 
avenue  and  High  streets,  Cambridge  Green,  at  the  junction  of 
Cambridge  and  Coral  streets  and  Staff'ord  road,  Eastern  avenue, 
and  Plymouth  avenue  parkways  and  the  cemeteries,  and  all 
have  been  made  much  more  attractive  than  formerly. 

45 


Another  board  which  did  much  valuable  work  for  the  city 
was  the  Reservoir  Commission,  established  under  a  city  ordi- 
nance passed  on  April  25, 1895,  This  Commission  consisted  of 
the  mayor  and  city  engineer  ex-officio  and  three  citizens 
appointed  by  the  mayor  and  confirmed  by  the  aldermen.  In 
order  to  protect  the  purity  of  the  water  supply,  the  commis- 
sion has  acquired  nearly  3,000  acres  of  land,  on  both  sides  of 
the  North  Watuppa  pond,  at  a  cost  of  more  than  $200,000.  In 
view  of  the  possible  necessity  of  diverting  some  of  the  streams 
that  flow  into  the  pond,  an  exhaustive  study  was  made  in 
1899,  1900  and  1901  of  the  capacity  of  the  ponds,  the  amount 
of  the  discharge  of  the  streams,  the  nature  and  extent  of  the 
watershed,  evaporation,  rainfall,  and  flow  from  the  North 
into  the  South  pond.  This  was  done  under  the  direction  of 
the  city  engineer,  with  Arthur  T.  Safford  of  Lowell,  consult- 
ing engineer,  and  in  1902  a  voluminous  and  valuable  report 
was  made.  The  commission  as  originally  constituted  was 
abolished  June  5,  1905,  and  its  duties  transferred  to  a  new 
board  made  up  of  the  three  members  of  the  water  board  and 
the  mayor  and  city  engineer  ex-officio. 

In  connection  with  the  study  of  the  water  supply  by 
engineers  in  the  employ  of  the  reservoir  commission,  an 
extended  examination  was  made  of  the  Quequechan  river  and 
of  possible  methods  for  improving  it,  so  as  to  give  the  mills  an 
adequate  supply  of  cool  water  from  the  stream  for  condensing, 
even  in  the  dryest  seasons,  make  available  for  use  a  large 
amount  of  land,  approximately  166  acres,  near  the  center  of 
the  city  which  is  now  flowed  in  times  of  high  water,  and 
remove  unsanitary  and  unsightly  flats  which  are  exposed  at 
low  water.  The  consulting  engineer  presented  a  report  on 
the  situation  late  in  1910,  with  three  plans,  either  of  which 
would  greatly  improve  conditions.  He  proposed  either  a 
single  canal,  a  canal  with  cooling  ponds,  or  a  canal  for  cool 
water  only  with  channels  to  convey  the  hot  water  from  the 
steam  plants  back  to  the  pond.  The  estimated  cost  ranged 
from  $685,000  to  $740,000  and  it  was  suggested  that  the  land 
which  could  be  reclaimed  might,  in  the  case  of  the  first  and 
third  plans,  repay  the  expenditure.  The  proposed  work 
extends  from  the  Sand  Bar  at  the  head  of  the  river  to  the 

46 


Watuppa  Dam,  near  Pleasant  street,  and  if  put  into  effect 
will,  in  the  opinion  of  the  engineer,  be  "an  improvement  for 
all  time,  which  will  build  up  the  city,  provide  facilities  for 
the  mills  and  the  public,  and  perhaps  improve  the  character 
of  the  city  so  much  that  it  will  remain  a  permanent  monument 
to  the  people  who  have  this  matter  in  charge." 

Surveys  have  been  made,  plans  prepared  and  approved  by 
the  State  Board  of  Health,  and  a  report  is  now  in  the  printer's 
hands  showing  the  intention  of  the  commission  to  construct 
along  the  westerly  shore  of  the  North  Watuppa  pond  a  con- 
duit to  collect  the  drainage  now  entering  the  pond  from  the 
west,  between  Pleasant  street  and  New  Boston  road,  and 
delivering  it  into  the  South  Pond,  where  it  will  be  available 
for  manufacturing  purposes  by  corporations  located  on  South 
Watuppa  pond  and  Quequechan  river  but  cannot  menace  the 
city's  water  supply  in  the  North  Pond. 

The  strike  of  1904  was  the  longest  and  the  most  disastrous 
in  the  history  of  the  community.  Nearly  30,000  operatives 
were  idle  the  greater  part  of  26  weeks,  from  July  25  till  Jan.  21 
of  the  following  year,  causing  an  estimated  loss  of  $4,500,000 
in  wages.  Work  was  resumed  following  a  conference  in 
January  with  Governor  Douglas  at  the  state  house  between 
representatives  of  the  manufacturers  and  the  operatives,  at 
which  he  agreed  to  investigate  business  conditions  in  the 
industry  and  report  a  margin  between  cotton  and  cloth  on 
which  an  increase  in  the  scale  of  wages  should  be  paid.  On 
his  subsequent  report  a  system  of  wage  dividends  based  on 
the  margin  between  the  quotations  for  specified  quantities  of 
cotton  and  cloth  went  into  effect,  and  continued  until  July  2, 
1906,  when  the  wage  scale  prevailing  before  the  strike  was 
restored. 

Approximately  7,000  persons  removed  from  the  city  dur- 
ing the  strike  which,  however,  had  been  marked  by  uniform 
good  order.  The  census  in  the  spring  of  1904  had  shown  a 
population  of  113,602.  That  of  1905  revealed  but  106,645,  and 
it  was  not  until  1908  that  the  city  regained  the  ground  it  had 
lost. 

Important  changes  in  the  local  banks  had  taken  place  in 
1903,    following  a   state   law   which    forbade   national    and 

47 


savings  banks  to  occupy  the  same  offices.  In  February  of 
that  year  the  Second  National,  which  had  rooms  with  the 
Five  Cents  Savings,  was  purchased  by  the  Metacomet 
National,  and  in  July  the  Pocasset  National,  which  occupied 
an  office  with  the  Citizens  Savings,  and  the  National  Union, 
which  had  been  associated  with  the  Union  Savings,  merged 
with  the  Massasoit  to  form  a  new  bank  know  as  the  Massasoit- 
Pocasset  National,  which  occupied  the  enlarged  banking 
rooms  of  the  old  Massasoit  National  Bank. 

In  the  same  year,  1903,  a  beginning  was  made  in  the  lay- 
ing of  granolithic  sidewalks,  under  a  betterment  system, 
which  has  become  very  popular,  and  has  done  much  to 
improve  the  appearance  of  the  city. 

The  Roman  Catholic  diocese  of  Fall  River  was  established 
March  12,  1904,  consisting  of  Bristol,  Barnstable  and  Dukes 
counties,  with  the  towns  of  Marion  and  Mattapoisett,  in 
Plymouth  county.  Fall  River  was  made  the  episcopal  city 
and  St.  Mary's  church  named  as  the  pro-cathedral.  Rt.  Rev. 
William  Stang,  D.  D.,  was  consecrated  as  the  first  bishop, 
at  the  cathedral  in  Providence,  May  1,  1904,  and  on  his  death 
February  2,  1907,  was  succeeded  by  the  present  bishop,  Rt. 
Rev.  Daniel  F.  Feehan,  D.  D.  Fall  River  had  been  a  part  of 
the  diocese  of  Boston  until  1872,  when  the  diocese  of  Provi- 
dence was  erected,  which  included  this  city. 

The  Bradford  Durf ee  Textile  School  on  Durf ee  street  was 
opened  to  students  on  March  7,  1904,  and  has  since  proved  so 
popular  and  successful  that  within  a  few  years  a  large  addi- 
tion was  necessary,  which  was  erected  on  Elm  street  and 
connected  with  the  original  building.  The  school  first  opened 
with  164  pupils  and  during  the  year  of  1910-1911  had  50  day 
students  and  900  evening  pupils.  It  is  free  to  citizens  of  the 
commonwealth,  and  is  supported  by  appropriations  by  both 
the  state  and  the  city. 

The  school  is  equipped  with  modern  machinery  and  labora- 
tories, and,  in  the  words  of  the  catalogue,  is  designed  "to 
meet  the  needs  of  two  distinct  classes  of  students:  one  class 
being  those  who  wish  a  preliminary  training  in  the  art  of 
manufacturing  before  entering  upon  the  practical  work  in  the 
mill;  the  other  being  those  already  at  work  in  the  mill,  who 

48 


feel  a  necessity  for  a  training  in  the  principles  of  the  art  and 
a  greater  knowledge  of  all  the  departments  of  their  chosen 
vocation." 

In  1907  the  cotton  manufacturing  industry  of  the  city 
experienced  a  period  of  prosperity,  in  which  the  whole 
community  shared.  The  product  of  the  mills  sold  at  the 
highest  price  since  1880  and  was  in  such  demand  that  even  at 
these  prices  it  was  contracted  for,  months  ahead.  The  profits 
were  large  and  the  mills  were  enabled  to  place  themselves  in 
a  strong  financial  position.  Dividends  were  increased  and 
extra  payments  made  to  shareholders.  The  employes  shared 
in  the  general  prosperity  through  advanced  wages  and  steady 
employment.  The  year's  business  was  of  inestimable  value 
to  the  city,  not  only  for  the  financial  returns  but  also  for 
the  increased  confidence  it  gave  in  the  community's  chief 
industry. 

A  sliding  scale  of  wages  was  agreed  upon  in  May,  1907, 
which  went  into  effect  the  last  Monday  in  that  month,  and 
with  modifications,  remained  in  force  for  three  years..  It  was 
for  six  months'  periods,  and  was  terminable  by  either  party  on 
three  months'  notice.  It  was  discontinued  in  the  last  part  of 
May,  1910,  following  notice  by  the  textile  unions  that  they 
desired  to  abrogate  it  and  the  failure  of  negotiations  for  its 
renewal. 

The  agreement  was  entered  into  in  a  period  of  great 
prosperity,  and  under  it  wages  were  advanced  to  a  high  level. 
The  subsequent  year,  however,  business  became  less  profita- 
ble, and  the  margin  between  cotton  and  cloth,  on  which  the 
scale  was  based,  declined  to  such  an  extent  that  in  May, 
1908,  wages  were  reduced  under  the  agreement  17. 94  per  cent., 
to  a  basis  of  19.66  cents  per  cut  for  weaving.  The  margin 
continued  to  decrease,  and  in  November  of  1908,  May,  1909, 
and  November,  1909,  the  manufacturers  were  entitled  under 
the  scale  to  make  additional  reductions,  in  the  last  instance 
to  the  minimum  of  18  cents  per  cut.  They,  however,  waived 
their  rights  each  time  and  maintained  the  scale  at  the  19,66 
cents  level,  on  which  wages  are  still  based. 

John  T.  Coughlin  was  mayor  of  the  city  from  1905  to  1910, 
inclusive,  and  at  the  beginning  of  the  municipal  year  of  1911 

49 


was  succeeded  by  the  present  chief  executive,  Thomas  P. 
Higgins.  During  Mr.  Coughlin's  administration  the  Samuel 
Watson  school  was  completed  and  occupied  in  September, 
1906,  and  the  new  Lincoln  school  was  completed  and  dedicated 
June  18,  1907.  This  replaced  the  old  wooden  building,  erected 
in  1846,  which  was  burned  on  Dec.  22,  1905.  The  Westall 
school  was  completed  in  1908,  permitting  the  closing  of  the 
Foster  Hooper  and  June  street  buildings,  and  the  fire  station  on 
Stanley  street,  at  the  Highlands  was  finished.  In  1909,  a  new 
engine  of  10,000,000  gallons  daily  capacity  was  installed  at  the 
pumping  station.  The  William  S.  Greene  school  was  completed 
and  occupied  in  September.  Three  new  schools  were  begun 
in  1910,  the  John  J.  McDonough  on  Wilham  and  Fountain 
streets,  the  William  J.  Wiley  on  North  Main  and  Canedy 
streets,  and  the  Hugo  A.  Dubuque  on  Oak  Grove  avenue,  and 
plans  were  prepared  for  a  new  technical  high  school  on  the  site 
of  the  Foster  Hooper  and  June  street  buildings,  for  which  the 
contract  was  awarded  in  April,  1911.  The  hospital  for  con- 
tagious diseases  was  completed  and  opened  for  the  use  of 
tuberculous  patients,  and  Purchase  street  extended  to  Court 
square,  thus  furnishing  a  new  highway  from  the  center  of 
the  city  to  the  north.  A  fire  station  on  Stafford  road  was 
completed  in  1910. 

The  fourth  of  the  large  tanks  of  the  water  department 
was  constructed  in  1907  on  the  south  side  of  Bedford  street. 
It  has  a  capacity  of  1,389,976  gallons,  and  is  of  about  the 
same  size  as  the  first  Bedford  street  tank,  built  in  1892,  and 
that  on  Haskell  street,  built  in  1897.  The  Townsend  hill  tank, 
the  first  to  be  constructed,  was  built  in  1886,  and  holds 
1,161,448  gallons.  The  combined  capacity  of  the  four  is 
5,306,593  gallons,  about  one  day's  supply  for  the  city. 

Two  large  playgrounds  were  purchased  by  the  park  com- 
mission in  1909,  under  the  provisions  of  a  legislative  act  which 
had  been  accepted  by  the  citizens  by  a  decisive  vote.  The 
tract  on  Stafford  road  contained  nearly  16  acres  and  cost 
$38,386.50.  The  land  on  Eastern  avenue  and  County  street, 
containing  about  11'  j  acres,  was  bought  for  $42,513.91.  The 
city  also  has  playgrounds  at  the  South,  North  and  Ruggles 
Parks  and  at  the  corner  of  Canal  and  Spring  streets. 

50 


The  new  bridge  over  the  Taunton  river  at  Brightman 
street,  authorized  by  the  legislature  in  1903,  to  be  constructed 
by  a  joint  board  consisting  of  the  County  Commission,  the 
Harbor  and  Land  Commission  and  the  Railroad  Commission, 
and  begun  in  1906,  was  opened  to  public  travel  Oct.  10,  1908, 
and  furnished  a  new  and  attractive  entrance  to  the  city.  It 
is  922^  feet  in  length,  between  abutments,  60  feet  wide,  with 
sidewalks  eight  feet  in  width,  giving  a  roadway  of  44  feet, 
and  has  a  draw  span  of  118  feet.  Its  total  cost  to  September, 
1910,  was  $1,014,102.17.  Of  this  $528,824.28  was  apportioned 
to  be  paid  by  Fall  River,  $8,112.82  by  Somerset,  $4,056.42  by 
Swansea,  $38,738.71  by  New  Bedford,  $13,183.33  by  Taunton, 
$1,216.92  by  Westport,  $2,636.65  by  Dartmouth,  $1,521.15  by 
Dighton  and  the  remainder  by  the  County  of  Bristol.  It  was 
further  ordered  that  96  per  cent,  of  the  cost  of  care  and 
maintenance  should  be  borne  by  Fall  River,  2h  per  cent,  by 
Somerset  and  li  per  cent,  by  Swansea. 

Still  another  great  work  for  which  plans  are  being  pre- 
pared and  permission  has  been  obtained  from  the  legislature, 
is  the  building  of  a  tunnel  under  the  city  by  the  New  York, 
New  Haven  &  Hartford  Railroad  Company,  to  connect  its 
main  tracks  along  the  bay  with  its  New  Bedford  branch. 
This  will,  if  constructed,  give  the  railroad  direct  communica- 
tion through  the  city  from  New  Bedford  and  the  Cape  to 
Providence  and  New  York,  thus  avoiding  the  present  circuitous 
route  to  the  north. 

One  of  the  recent  additions  to  the  city's  public  buildings 
is  the  district  court  house  on  Rock  street,  erected  on  the  site 
of  the  Exchange  Hotel,  later  the  Gunn  house,  which  in  the 
period  between  1830  and  1850  was  the  principal  hotel  of  the 
town.  It  was  completed  early  in  the  present  year,  and  the 
first  session  of  the  court  was  held  there  on  Jan.  23,  1911. 

The  extent  of  the  city's  industries  to-day  is  shown  by 
figures  recently  made  public  by  the  census  bureau,  from  an 
inquiry  made  here  in  1909.  The  agents  of  the  bureau  reported 
here  in  that  year  288  manufacturing  establishments,  with  a 
capital  of  $82,086,000.  The  materials  used  cost  $35,524,000, 
and  the  value  of  the  product  was  $64,146,000,  showing  a  value 
added  by  manufacture  of  $28,622,000.  The  average  number 
of  wage-earners  employed  was  37,139,  and  the  total  salaries 
and  wages  paid,  $16,583,000. 

51 


THE  GLOBE  COTTON  MILL 

The  cotton  mill  that  was  started  at  Globe  Village  100 
years  ago  by  Colonel  Joseph  Durfee  bore  but  little  resemblance 
to  any  of  the  mammoth  factories  that  have  succeeded  it,  yet 
it  was  the  beginning  of  the  great  industry  which  has  since 
grown  up  here. 

It  occupied  a  building  at  what  is  now  the  northeast  corner 
of  South  Main  and  Globe  streets,  which  is  supposed  to  have 
been  the  building  still  standing,  and  probably  contained  less 
than  1000  spindles.  The  picking  of  the  cotton  and  the  weaving 
of  the  cloth  were  still  done  by  hand,  in  the  homes  of  neighbor- 
ing farmers,  and  the  carding,  spinning  and  finishing  were 
probably  all  that  w^ere  done  in  the  pioneer  mill.  Its  equip- 
ment is  supposed  to  have  been  limited  to  a  few  Arkwright 
spinning  frames,  carders  and  probably  a  calender,  and  these 
were  operated  by  the  scant  water  power  obtainable  from  the 
little  pond  adjoining. 

Col.  Durfee's  mill,  known  as  the  Globe  Mill,  was  a  stock 
company,  and  in  soliciting  subscriptions  for  the  shares,  the 
most  effective  argument  is  said  to  have  been  that  "cotton 
cloth  would  darn  much  easier  than  hnen."  The  success  of 
the  enterprise  was  not  great  at  any  time,  due  probably  to 
want  of  practical  knowledge,  and  in  the  end  the  venture 
appears  to  have  been  disastrous.  The  mill  was  operated  by 
various  persons,  and  in  1829  the  building  was  converted  into 
a  print  works. 

All  honor,  however,  is  due  to  Col.  Durfee  as  a  pioneer  in 
the  industry  here.  He  was  the  son  of  Hon.  Thomas  Durfee, 
and  a  grandson  of  one  of  the  original  holders  of  a  large  tract 
in  that  section  under  the  Pocasset  Purchase.  At  the  time  of 
starting  the  mill  he  was  61  years  of  age.  Eight  others  were 
associated  with  him  in  the  ownership  of  the  100  shares  in  the 
enterprise,  and  their  names  appear  in  the  deed  given  below. 

This  deed  is  interesting  not  only  as  the  first  reference  to 
the  mill,  in  the  town  records  of  Tiverton,  but  also  from  the 
fact  that  it  gives  the  names  of  the  other  original  stockholders 

52 


and  the  amount  of  their  holdings,  and  h'kewise  furnishes  an 
excellent  example  of  the  wording  and  spelling  in  the  deeds  of 
those  days.     It  is  as  follows: 

Whereas  I  Joseph  Durfee  of  Tiverton  in  the  County  of 
Newport  Esq.  am  the  sole  owner  and  proprietor  of  a  certain 
lot  or  parcel  of  land  lying  in  the  Town  of  Tiverton  aforesaid 
and  is  a  part  of  my  homestid  through  which  a  stream  of  water 
flowing  from  a  certain  pond  called  Cooks  Pond  doth  pass 
whereon  it  is  contemplated  to  Erect  and  put  in  motion  a 
cotton  factory  and  in  order  to  effect  the  same  I  the  said 
Joseph  have  thought  fit  to  divide  the  lot  with  the  privileges 
and  appurtenances  thereunto  belonging  into  one  hundred 
shares  and  to  dispose  of  the  same  in  the  following  Manner 

Now  Know  Ye  that  for  and  in  consideration  of  the  sum  of  Six 
hundred  and  Sixty  dollars  to  me  in  hand  paid  by  the  Persons 
hereafter  Named  in  manner  following  to  (wit)  by  Seth 
Simmons  of  Providence  in  the  County  of  Providence  carpenter 
four  hundred  and  forty  Dollars  by  Nathan  Chase  fifty  five 
dollars  by  Boulston  Brayton  thirty  three  Dollars  by  William 
Durfee  twenty  two  dollars  all  of  Tiverton  in  the  county  of 
Newport  yeoman,  Benjamin  Brayton  of  Gray  twenty  two 
Dollars  by  Nathan  Cole  Sixty  Six  Dollars  Elisha  Fuller  Eleven 
Dollars  Robert  Hazard  Eleven  Dollars  all  of  Rehobath  in  the 
County  of  Bristol  and  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts  the 
receipt  whereof  I  the  said  Joseph  do  hereby  acknowledge  and 
with  other  considerations  me  thereunto  moving  have  Granted 
Bargained  and  Sold  unto  the  above  Named  persons  Sixty 
Shares  of  the  One  Hundred  Shares  above  mentioned  (to  wit) 
To  Seth  Simmons  forty  shears  to  Nathan  Chase  five  shares  to 
Boulston  Brayton  three  Shares  to  William  Durfee  two  shares 
to  Benjamin  Brayton  two  Shares  to  Nathan  Cole  Six  Shares  to 
Elijah  Fuller  one  Share  and  to  Robert  Hazard  one  Share  of  a 
Certain  Lot  of  Land  above  mentioned,  bounded  as  follows 
takeing  its  beginning  at  the  Southwest  Corner  of  said  lot  and 
Running  South  thirty  five  degrees  East  twenty  Rods  and  two 
Links  thence  South  twenty  five  degrees  west  Eleven  Rods  and 
twelve  Lingths  thence  South  Sixty  Seven  degrees  and  one 
quarter  East  twenty  three  Rod  and  two  Links  thence  North 
thirty  four  Degrees  East  nineteen  Rods  and  thirteen  links 
thence  North  thirty  five  degrees  west  thirty  one  Rod  eight 
links  thence  South  Seventy  three  and  half  degrees  West 
twenty  two  rods  agreabale  to  the  plat  by  Survey  hereunto 
anexed  reference  being  thereunto  had  for  further  particulars 

To  Have  And  To  Hold  the  Sixty  Shares  aforesaid  with  all  the 

53 


privileges  and  appurtenances  thereunto  belonging  with  a 
further  and  more  particular  privilidge  (to  wit)  that  of  passing 
to  and  from  the  road  to  the  head  of  the  Stream  by  foot  people 
for  the  purpose  of  opening  and  Shuting  the  Gate  with  privledge 
to  Clear  out  the  brook  Springs  and  Streams  as  occation  may 
require  to  them  the  said  Seth  Simmons  Nathan  Chase  Bouls- 
ton  Bravton  William  Durfee  Benjamin  Brayton  Nathan  Cole 
Elisha  Fuller  &  Robert  Hazard  the  share  above  mentioned  to 
them  their  heirs  and  assigns  forever  and  I  the  said  Joseph  for 
my  self  heirs  Executors  and  administrators  do  covenant  to 
and  with  the  afore  Named  Grantees  that  I  am  the  true  Sole 
and  Lawful  owner  of  the  premises  afore-discribed,  and  have 
good  Right  to  Sell  and  Convey  the  same  in  manner  as  afore 
said  and  that  I  will  warrant  and  Defend  the  Same  against  the 

Claims  of  all  persons 

In  witness  whereof  I  have  together  with  Elizebeth  wife  of  me 

the  sd.  Joseph  our  hands  and  Seals  the  Sixth  day  of  June  1811- 

Signed  Sealed  and  Ded. 

in  the  presence  of  Joseph  Durfee  (Seal) 

Pardon  Gray 

William  Humphrey  Elizbeth  Durfee  (Seal) 

Newport  Ss  at  Tiverton  in  sd.  County  personally  appeared  the 

above  Named  Joseph  Durfee  and  acknowledged  the  foregoing 

Instrument  to  be  his  Vaullentory  act  Deed  hand  &  Seal  this 

7th.  day  of  October  1811- 

Before  me  Thos.  Durfee  Jus  Peace 

A  true  Coppay  of  the  original  Deed 

Reed,  on  file  at  Tiverton  October  ye  11th  day  A.D.  1811 

at  four  o'clock  P.  M. 

Pardon  Gray  Town  Clerk  

Following  the  records,  it  appears  that  in  1813  Oliver 
Chace  purchased  a  controlling  interest  in  the  mill,  and  later 
in  the  same  year,  conveyed  it  to  several  persons.  Charles 
Dyer  and  Benjamin  Dyer  each  purchased  from  Mr.  Chace 
25  shares,  at  $60  a  share.  Nine  years  later,  in  1822,  the 
Dyers  conveyed  their  shares  back  to  Oliver  Chace.  Each 
received  $1388  for  his  interest,  "being,"  as  the  deed  states, 
"all  right  and  title  to  the  factory  and  other  buildings,  and 
machinery,  tools  and  stoves  belonging  to  the  Globe  Cotton 
Mill,  standing  on  land  aforesaid." 

In  1830,  for  the  sum  of  $1986,  Oliver  Chace  sold  to  Cyrus 
Potter  71  undivided  seventy-fifth  parts  of  the  Union  Factory, 
lot,    buildings,   fixtures  and   machinery;  also  22|^  undivided 

54 


100th  parts  of  the  Globe  Factory,  lots  and  buildings  thereon 
and  other  land.  In  1832  Cyrus  Potter  sold  to  Charles  Potter 
for  $25,000  several  parcels  of  land  and  buildings,  including 
that  "formerly  known  by  the  name  of  the  Globe  Mill  and  the 
Union  Mill,  now  occupied  and  improved  for  bleaching, dyeing 
and  printing  calicoes." 

The  venture,  as  has  been  said,  was  at  no  time  notably 
successful,  and  CoL  Durfee  lost  a  large  part  of  his  fortune  in 
the  enterprise.  It  was  subsequently  operated  by  various 
persons,  and  in  1821,  following  the  burning  of  the  Troy  Mill, 
the  agent  of  that  corporation  was  authorized  by  his  stock- 
holders to  negotiate  for  a  five  years'  lease  of  the  factory,  with 
its  real  estate  and  machinery.  It  does  not  appear,  however, 
that  such  a  lease  was  made.  About  1829  it  became  a  part  of 
a  print  works  operated  first  by  Potter  &  Chatburn,  who  printed 
their  first  goods  in  September,  1830,  and  later  known  as  the 
Tiverton  Print  Works,  and  finally  as  the  Bay  State  Print  Works. 

A  part  of  the  old  mill  was  also  for  a  time,  between  1843 
and  1850,  used  temporarily  as  a  schoolhouse  by  one  of  the 
Tiverton  districts. 

It  is  believed  that  printing  machines  were  used  in  the  old 
Globe  Mill  as  late  as  1845,  when  they  were  removed,  from 
which  time  the  building  has  been  used  for  storage  purposes. 
The  attic  was  probably  used  for  hanging  the  cloth  after  print- 
ing to  "age"  it,  preparatory  for  dyeing.  The  water  wheel, 
although  perhaps  not  the  original,  was  removed  about  1850. 

The  present  building  which  is  supposed  to  have  been  the 
original, measures  120  2-10  feet  in  length,  32  4-10  feet  in  width, 
with  a  projection  on  the  west  side  about  31  feet  by  8  feet,  and 
having  three  stories  and  an  attic.  It  is  now  owned  by  the 
New  England  Cotton  Yarn  Co.  and  the  Laurel  Lake  Mills. 

When  the  mill  was  started,  cotton  had  been  grown  in  this 
country  for  manufacture  only  75  years.  No  factory  for 
spinning  it  had  been  established  in  the  United  States  till  1787, 
when  a  little  mill  operated  by  two  horses  driven  by  a  boy,  was 
started  at  Beverly,  with  a  few  jennies,  each  of  which  spun 
84  threads.  Spinning  frames  were  in  use  in  England  during 
the  Revolution,  but  an  act  of  Parliament,  strictly  enforced, 
made  it  impossible  to  obtain  the  machines  or  their  plans  and 

55 


also  forbade  the  emigration  of  skilled  mechanics.  Samuel 
Slater,  an  Englishman  who  had  made  himself  master  of  the 
machinery  and  methods,  knowing  of  the  large  sums  offered 
in  this  country  for  the  machines,  managed  to  make  his  way 
to  New  York,  and  in  1790,  having  entered  the  employ  of 
Moses  Brown  of  Providence,  undertook  the  manufacture  of 
machinery  of  the  English  type  at  Pawtucket.  He  was 
successful,  and  one  year  later  started  a  small  mill  there  with 
machinery  built  on  the  Arkwright  principle. 

The  introduction  of  English  machinery,  together  with  the 
invention  in  1793  of  the  cotton  gin,  by  which  one  man  could 
clean  for  market  a  thousand  pounds  of  cotton  in  the  time 
formerly  taken  to  clean  five  or  six  pounds,  gave  an  immediate 
impetus  to  the  business,  and  many  men  who  had  learned  it 
under  Slater,  left  his  employ  to  start  plants  of  their  own.  By 
1809  there  were  in  Providence  and  vicinity  17  mills,  running 
14,296  spindles,  and  the  United  States  census  of  1810  showed 
238  mills,  of  which  54  were  in  Massachusetts,  28  in  Rhode 
Island  and  64  in  Pennsylvania. 

It  was  not  until  1838  that  an  English  self-acting  mule  was 
brought  to  this  country  by  William  C.  Davol.  To  escape  the 
British  laws,  which  still  forbade  the  exportation  of  machinery, 
he  went  to  England  and  after  purchasing  and  cutting  to 
pieces  a  Sharp  &  Roberts  mule  had  it  shipped  to  America  by 
way  of  France  in  boxes  labelled  "Glass."  On  its  arrival,  he 
set  it  up  in  his  own  shop  in  Fall  River,  and  subsequently 
manufactured  many  of  these  machines  for  American  Mills. 


EARLY  COTTON  MANUFACTURING 


The  year  1813  marked  the  beginning  of  cotton  manufac- 
turing here  on  a  substantial  basis.  In  that  year  two  com- 
panies were  formed,  the  Troy  Cotton  &  Woolen  Manufactory, 
with  a  capital  of  $50,000,  which  is  still  in  existence  as  a 
successful  corporation,  and  the  Fall  River  Manufactory,  with 
$40,000  capital,  which  only  a  few  years  ago  was  purchased  by 

56 


the  Pocasset  Mfg.  Co.  About  one  half  the  capital  was  secured 
in  the  neighboring  towns. 

David  Anthony,  who  became  the  first  agent  and  treasurer 
of  the  Fall  River  Manufactory,  was  a  native  of  Somerset,  and 
was  at  this  time  only  26  years  of  age,  but  had  acquired  a 
thorough  practical  knowledge  of  the  business  under  Slater  at 
Pawtucket.  A  three-story  mill,  60  by  40  feet,  the  lower  story 
of  stone  and  the  upper  two  of  wood,  and  designed  for  1500 
spindles,  was  begun  at  once,  on  the  Quequechan,  the  portion 
of  which  below  the  Troy  dam  is  often  alluded  to  as  the  Fall 
River,  about  where  the  mill  now  known  as  the  Fall  River 
Manufactory  stands.  It  was  completed  and  began  operations 
in  October,  1813,  and  was  the  first  cotton  spinning  plant  in  the 
village. 

Oliver  Chace,  the  originator  of  the  Troy,  had  been  brought 
up  as  a  carpenter,  but  had  acquired  a  practical  knowledge 
of  cotton  manufacturing  from  a  small  mill  which  he  had  for  a 
time  owned  and  operated  at  Dighton.  The  Troy  mill  was 
larger  than  the  Fall  River  and  was  built  of  stone,  108  feet 
long,  37  feet  wide,  four  stories  in  height,  with  a  low  hip  roof. 
It  was  located  near  the  site  of  the  present  Troy  mill,  and  was 
designed  for  2,000  spindles.  Both  it  and  the  Fall  River  were 
operated  by  water  power  derived  from  the  Quequechan  river. 

The  Fall  River  Manufactory  was  the  first  to  secure  a 
picking  machine,  which  had  just  been  introduced  in  this 
country.  The  mills  had  been  paying  four  cents  a  pound  to 
have  the  cotton  picked  by  hand,  and  the  machine  saved  three 
quarters  of  the  cost,  though  it  was  opposed  by  consumers, 
who  believed  that  it  injured  the  staple. 

The  Fall  River  was  also  the  first  to  introduce  power 
looms,  in  1817.  The  first  weavers  were  paid  $2.50  a  week, 
but  when  they  had  become  more  experienced  a  change  was 
made  to  one  cent  a  yard.  Cloth  was  woven  one  yard  wide, 
and  sold  for  25  cents  a  yard.  Power  looms  appear  not  to  have 
been  installed  in  the  Troy  mill  until  1820. 

The  two  mills  had  been  started  before  the  close  of  the 
war  of  1812,  when  American  markets  were  closed  to  English 
manufacturers  and  the  demand  was  brisk,  but  they  had 
scarcely  begun  operations  when  the  war  ended,  again  allow- 

57 


ing  the  entrance  of  British  goods,  and  it  was  not  until  1820 
that  the  Troy  paid  its  first  dividend.  Four  years  later  it 
declared  a  dividend  payable  in  cloth  on  demand. 

The  original  Troy  mill  was  burned  in  1821,  but  rebuilt  in 
1823.  In  1843  a  three  story  addition  was  made,  which  ten 
years  later  was  raised  two  stories  and  extended  80  feet  on  the 
south.  In  1860,  the  mill  of  1823  was  removed,  and  the  part 
known  as  the  New  Mill  erected,  five  stories  in  height,  extend- 
ing to  Bedford  street. 

The  Fall  River  Manufactory's  Nankeen  Mill,  and  the 
original  structure,  known  as  the  "Yellow  Mill,"  were  torn 
down  in  1839  to  make  room  for  the  "White  Mill".  The  latter 
was  burned  in  1868,  and  the  present  structure,  since  enlarged, 
succeeded  it. 

The  Union  Cotton  Factory  was  also  started  in  1813,  with 
50  shares,  held  by  31  stockholders,  and  began  operations  in  a 
wooden  structure  on  the  site  of  the  Laurel  Lake  Mills,  then  a 
part  of  Tiverton.     This  was  burned  in  1838. 

The  third  large  corporation  to  be  formed  was  the  Pocasset 
Mfg.  Co.,  organized  in  1822,  with  $100,000  capital.  It 
acquired  a  considerable  tract  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  west 
of  Main  street,  including  the  water  power,  and  in  1827,  after 
tearing  down  a  grist  mill  which  stood  on  the  spot,  erected  on 
the  north  side  of  the  stream,  near  the  street,  the '  'Bridge  Mill, ' ' 
a  three-story  stone  structure,  40  by  100,  with  a  long  ell  over 
the  river.  It  installed  1,000  spindles,  and  manufactured  the 
first  print  cloths  made  in  this  city, — seven-eighths  of  a  yard 
wide  and  44  picks  to  the  inch.  It  was  burned,  together  with 
the  old  fulling  mill,  which  stood  further  south,  in  the  fire  of 
1843,  and  the  company  soon  after  erected  near  the  site,  the 
present  Granite  Block.  A  few  years  later  it  constructed  a 
part  of  its  present  mill,  219x75,  and  five  stories  in  height,  by 
far  the  largest  factory  which  had,  up  to  this  time  been  built 
here,  and  notable  for  its  width  as  well  as  its  other  proportions. 
It  began  operations  in  1847. 

Early  in  its  career  the  company  had  built  a  number  of 
small  stone  mills  to  rent.  In  one  of  these,  known  as  the 
Satinet  Factory  and  built  in  1825,  was  manufactured  a  woolen 
cloth  from  which  the  mill  took  its  name.    In  part  of  this  same 

58 


building  the  Robeson  Print  Works  was  started.  It  was  torn 
down  to  make  room  for  the  present  mill.  The  company  also 
built  in  1826  the  "New  Pocasset, "  which  was  leased  for 
cotton  manufacturing. 

One  of  these  mills  is  still  standing  and  operated  as  a  part 
of  the  Pocasset  plant  of  to-day.  This  is  a  small  mill  on 
Pocasset  street,  west  of  the  main  plant,  built  in  1827  and 
known  first  as  the  Massasoit  and  later  as  the  Watuppa.  It 
was  leased  in  part  to  Brown  &  Ives  of  Providence  for  cotton 
manufacturing,  but  they  became  dissatisfied  and  sold  out  to 
Holder  Borden,  who  opened  the  partitions  and  equipped  the 
whole  mill  with  cotton  machinery.  He  discarded  the  old 
methods  of  distributing  power  by  gearing,  and  was  the  first 
to  introduce  belting.  The  mill  was  equipped  with  9,000 
spindles,  and  was  considered  a  wonder  for  size. 

The  lease  ran  out  about  1843,  and  the  proprietors  then 
erected  on  Davol  street,  the  Massasoit  Steam  mill,  so  desig- 
nated because  it  was  one  of  the  first,  if  not  the  first  here  to 
be  operated  by  steam  rather  than  water  power.  It  was 
burned  in  1875,  and  the  site  is  now  occupied  by  the  Massasoit 
Mfg.  Co.  The  1827  mill,  originally  known  as  the  Massasoit, 
was  for  a  time  run  by  a  corporation  known  as  the  Watuppa 
Cotton  Mill,  and  in  time  became  a  part  of  the  Pocasset 
plant. 

Still  another  early  mill  was  the  Annawan,  which  stood  on 
Pocasset  street  where  the  Iron  Works  No.  7  now  is,  and  was 
torn  down  when  that  was  erected  in  1905.  It  was  built  in 
1825,  a  large  factory  for  its  day,  and  continued  in  operation 
until  about  1890. 

In  addition  to  the  mills  named,  there  was  also  a  plant  for 
the  manufacture  of  cotton  batting,  owned  by  I.  Bufiinton  & 
Son,  and  carried  on  first  at  Sucker  Brook,  and  subsequently 
on  the  site  of  the  Fall  River  Bleachery  on  the  same  stream. 
It  was  established  in  1838. 

At  the  time  these  early  mills  were  built,  work  began  at 
5  a.  m.,  or  at  daylight  and  continued  until  8,  when  half  an 
hour  was  allowed  for  breakfast.  Another  half  hour  was 
given  at  noon  for  dinner,  and  work  then  continued  till  7:30  in 
the  evening. 

59 


The  superintendent  of  a  mill  in  1830  received  $2  a  day,  an 
overseer  $1.25  and  the' majority  of  operatives  from  83  cents 
to  one  dollar  a  day. 

The  Pocasset  mill  of  1847  which,  it  will  be  remembered, 
was  of  phenomenal  size,  for  its  day,  was  the  result  of  the 
conviction  of  its  superintendent,  that  a  large  mill  could  be 
operated  more  economically  than  the  small  ones  then  running, 
and  though  there  were  those  who  predicted  failure,  the  mill 
justified  his  anticipations.  This  was  also  the  first  mill  to  be 
erected  in  which  details  had  been  carefully  worked  out,  before 
beginning  construction,  as  to  the  location  of  machinery, 
shafting  and  belting,  a  plan  which  resulted  in  a  great  saving 
over  the  old  methods. 

The  Metacometimill,  when  built  in  1846  by  the  Iron  Works 
Co. ,  was  constructed  from  the  plans  of  a  model  mill  in  Bolton, 
England,  and  was  the  first  to  have  iron  posts  and  girders, 
thereby  preventing  a  settling  of  the  mill,  with  consequent 
friction  and  loss  of  power.  The  mill  attracted  great  attention 
from  manufacturers  in  other  parts  of  New  England. 

The  American  Linen  Co.  was  formed  in  1852  to  make  the 
finer  grade  of  linen  fabrics,  the  first  enterprise  of  the  kind 
in  the  country.  Operatives  and  flax  were  imported  from 
Europe,  and  for  a  time  there  was  an  active  demand  for  the 
product.  This  fell  off,  however,  in  consequence  of  the 
increasing  use  of  cotton  and  woolen  fabrics,  and  in  1858  the 
linen  machinery  was  removed  and  cotton  manufacturing 
begun. 

OTHER  INDUSTRIES 

In  addition  to  the  many  plants  engaged  in  the  manufacture 
of  cotton  cloth,  the  larger  industries  of  Fall  River  include  two 
print  works,  a  bleachery,  mills  for  the  making  of  cotton  yarn 
and  sewing  thread,  extensive  hat  factories,  a  piano  factory, 
machine  shops,  foundries  and  mills  for  the  utilization  of  cotton 
waste  and  the  making  of  absorbent  and  jewelers'  cotton. 
There  are  also  three  large  breweries,  now  under  one  manage- 
ment. 

60 


Probably  the  best  known  of  these  plants  is  the  American 
Print  Works,  which  was  established  by  Holder  Borden  and 
others  in  1834,  and  began  operations  in  January,  1835,  with  a 
capacity  of  2,000  pieces  a  week.  The  plant  was  gradually 
enlarged,  and  in  1854  had  increased  its  capacity  to  9,000  pieces. 
Large  buildings  of  stone  were  erected  in  1867  to  replace 
the  original  buildings  of  wood  but  burned  late  in  that  year. 
They  were  at  once  rebuilt,  but  the  uninsured  loss  had  been 
so  large  that  in  1879,  suspension  became  necessary.  In 
1880  a  new  corporation  was  formed  known  as  the  American 
Printing  Co.,  with  a  capital  of  $300,000,  since  increased  to 
$750,000.  The  plant  has  been  steadily  increased  until  it  is  now 
the  largest  in  the  United  States  and  operates  30  printing 
machines,  with  a  weekly  capacity  of  100,000  pieces,  which  are 
sold  all  over  the  world.  The  corporation  owns  all  the  stock  of 
the  Fall  River  Iron  Works  Co. ,  which  in  the  last  20  years  has 
erected  six  large  mills  and  remodelled  one  other  and  now 
operates  488,000  spindles  and  employs  5,000  hands.  M.  C.  D. 
Borden  of  New  York,  a  native  of  this  city,  controls  the 
business. 

Another  print  works  is  that  of  the  Algonquin  Printing 
Company,  incorporated  in  1891.  This  has  grown  from  a  plant 
having  a  weekly  capacity  of  3,600  pieces  to  40,000,  and  now 
operates  12  machines  and  employs  some  350  hands. 

Earlier  print  works,  no  longer  in  operation,  included 
Robeson's,  known  as  the  Fall  River,  and  the  Globe  Print 
Works,  later  known  as  the  Bay  State.  Robeson's  print  works, 
the  first  in  this  city,  had  been  started  on  the  stream,  west  of 
the  Pocasset  Mfg.  Co.,  by  Andrew  Robeson  of  New  Bedford, 
in  1826.  The  work  was  for  a  time  done  by  hand  by  the  block 
process,  which,  indeed,  continued  to  be  used  till  1841,  but  in 
1827  what  was  probably  the  first  printing  machine  in  the 
United  States  was  set  up  and  was  operated  successfully  for 
many  years.  The  depression  of  1848  forced  a  suspension  and 
reorganization  and  about  1860  cotton  machinery  was  intro- 
duced. The  plant  was  run  as  the  Quequechan  mill  until  the 
early  80's. 

Mr.  Robeson  bought  and  printed  the  first  print  cloths 
made  in  Fall  River.     He  departed  from  the  custom  of  "store 

61 


pay,"  by  which  employees  were  paid  in  goods  from  a  store 
owned  by  the  factory,  then  in  use  here,  in  common  with  other 
manufacturing  communities,  and  gave  cash,  thus  allowing  his 
employees  to  buy  wherever  they  pleased.  The  change  was  so 
satisfactory  that  company  stores  soon  disappeared.  Another 
act  for  which  he  is  remembered,  is  the  furnishing  a  school 
room  and  teacher  for  his  juvenile  employees,  to  whom  he 
allowed  one  third  of  each  day  for  study. 

The  Globe  Print  Works  were  at  Globe  Village, on  the  stream 
flowing  from  Cook  Pond  into  the  bay.  They  were  the  succes- 
sors of  Col.  Durfee's  pioneer  mill,  which  had  been  purchased 
in  1829  by  Potter  and  Chatburn  and  converted  into  a  print 
works,  beginning  operations  in  1830.  The  plant  was  enlarged 
and  run  by  various  persons  and  was  known  for  a  time  as  the 
Tiverton  and  afterward  as  the  Bay  State  Print  Works,  About 
1858  it  was  purchased  by  the  American  and  run  by  this  cor- 
poration till  it  was  burned  in  1867. 

The  Fall  River  Bleachery,  which  has  a  capacity  of  50  tons 
daily,  was  organized  in  1872  on  the  site  of  the  mill  of  I. 
Buffinton  &  Son,  and  began  operations  the  following  year. 
The  No.  2  works  were  built  in  1888,  and  additional  buildings 
have  been  erected  in  recent  years. 

The  two  large  yarn  manufacturing  plants,  which  have 
a  combined  spindleage  of  131,000,  are  now  a  part  of  the  New 
England  Cotton  Yarn  Co.  and  under  lease  to  the  Union  Mills, 
but  were  formerly  the  Globe  Yarn  Mills  and  the  Sanford 
Spinning  Co.  The  Globe  Yarn,  started  in  1881,  and  repeatedly 
enlarged,  produces  weekly  140,000  pounds  of  yarn  and  thread, 
and  employs  750  hands,  while  the  Sanford  Spinning,  started 
in  1891,  to  make  colored  and  fancy  yarns,  produces  120,000 
pounds  a  week  and  employs  550  hands. 

The  Kerr  Thread  Mill  was  built  in  1888,  for  the  manu- 
facture of  fine  cotton  yarns  and  sewing  thread.  It  became  a 
part  of  the  American  Thread  Co.  in  1898.  A  new  mill  was 
erected  in  1907,  and  the  plant  now  has  105,000  spindles, 
employing  1100  hands. 

The  Massasoit  Mfg.  Co.  and  the  Estes  Mills  are  engaged 
in  the  handling  of  waste.  The  product  of  the  Massasoit,  in 
addition  to  various  grades  of  cotton  waste,  includes  mops, 

62 


yarns,  wicks,  and  spun  and  bleached  cotton,  while  the  Estes 
Mills  produce  sash  cord,  yarns,  mops,  twines,  warps,  clothes 
lines,  wicking,  absorbent  and  jeweler's  cotton  as  well  as  waste 
of  a  variety  of  grades.  The  Massasoit  has  a  large  foreign 
trade,  and  additional  plants  in  Connecticut  and  the  South. 

The  plant  of  Kilburn,  Lincoln  &  Company  is  among  the 
large  makers  of  looms  for  cotton  and  silk  weaving  and  of 
power  transmission  machinery  in  the  United  States  and  makes 
about  5,000  looms  annually,  giving  employment  to  about  300 
hands.  It  is  the  outgrowth  of  the  union  in  1847  under  the 
name  of  E.  C.  Kilburn  &  Co.  of  the  loom-making  and  shafting 
business  which  had  been  established  previous  to  1840  by 
Jonathan  Thayer  Lincoln  and  that  started  in  1844  by  John 
Kilburn.  In  1856  this  became  Kilburn,  Lincoln  &  Son  and  in 
1867  took  its  present  name  and  a  large  machine  shop  and  an 
iron  foundry  were  erected  the  same  year,  and  other  additions 
have  followed. 

A  large  iron  business  was  formerly  carried  on  here  by  the 
Fall  River  Iron  Works  Company,  which  at  one  time,  about 
1876,  gave  employment  to  600  men.  It  was  started  in  1821 
by  Bradford  Durfee  and  Richard  Borden  for  the  manufacture 
of  iron  work  for  shipbuilding  and  later  made  hoop  iron  for  the 
New  Bedford  oil  trade  and  still  later,  nails.  It  was  immensely 
successful  for  many  years,  and  was  the  principal  originator 
of  the  Annawan  and  Metacomet  Mills,  the  gas  works,  the 
steamboat  line  to  Providence  and  the  railroad  to  South  Brain- 
tree.  From  an  original  investment  of  $18,000  its  stockholders 
received  between  1850  and  1880  $3,073,000,  besides  stock  in  the 
Troy  Cotton  &  Woolen  Manufactory,  the  Fall  River  Manufac- 
tory, the  American  Print  Works  and  the  Bay  State  Steamboat 
Company,  later  the  Fall  River  Line.  In  1880  the  property 
was  divided  and  the  stockholders  given  shares  in  new  cor- 
porations known  as  the  Metacomet  Mills,  the  Fall  River 
Machine  Company,  the  Fall  River  Gas  Works  Company  and 
the  Fall  River  &  Providence  Steamboat  Company.  The 
manufacture  of  iron  was  discontinued  soon  after  in  conse- 
quence of  the  competition  of  plants  nearer  the  mines. 
Shortly  after  1896  the  stock  was  acquired  by  M.  C.  D.  Borden, 
who  retaining  the  old  charter,  which  was  of  value,  tore  down 

63 


the  buildings  and  began  the  erection  of  cotton  mills  to  supply 
cloth  for  the  American  Printing  Company  of  which  he  was 
also  the  owner. 

The  extensive  powers  given  by  the  charter  of  the  Fall 
River  Iron  Works  Company,  if  more  than  accidental,  indicated 
a  long  view  into  the  future.  Though  organized  primarily  to 
carry  on  the  iron  business,  the  company  from  time  to  time 
launched  into  many  and  varied  lines  as  its  growth  demanded 
or  as  opportunity  made  desirable.  When,  for  example,  the 
iron  business  was  removed  from  its  original  location  near  the 
outlet  of  the  Quequechan,  to  that  adjoining  High  Hill,  in  order 
to  utilize  the  former  site  the  company  built  the  Metacomet 
Mill  for  the  manufacture  of  cotton  cloth.  It  had  already 
found  that  Providence  was  a  good  market  for  the  product  of 
its  iron  mills,  and  had  accordingly  purchased  a  site  and  erected 
a  substantial  wharf  there,  near  which  it  also  constructed  a 
brick  ofRce  building  and  storehouse,  which  was  maintained 
until  the  closing  of  the  works. 

As  from  time  to  time  increased  facilities  were  needed,  the 
company  provided  them  for  its  own  use,  but  always  looking 
forward  to  the  time  when  others  would  avail  themselves  of 
the  opportunities  offered.  Under  this  policy  it  built  gas 
works,  and  a  cooper  shop  for  the  making  of  nail  kegs,  as  well 
as  carpenter,  blacksmith  and  machine  shops,  the  last  occupy- 
ing the  building  vacated  by  the  Fall  River  Railroad  on  its 
consolidation  with  the  Old  Colony  Railroad.  When  it  needed 
additional  machinery  for  the  nail  factory,  it  built  it  here.  It 
also  added  a  boiler  shop,  and  wharves,  one  of  which  became 
known  as  "Derrick  Wharf,"  because  of  the  large  derrick 
erected  there  for  the  handling  of  boilers  and  other  machinery 
for  steamboats.  The  desire  to  obtain  a  location  where  larger 
vessels  could  dock  at  any  stage  of  the  tide  was  one  of  the 
prime  factors  in  bringing  about  the  removal  of  the  works  to 
their  new  location. 

All  work  was  done  by  employees  of  the  company.  In 
wharf  building  no  divers  were  to  be  had,  and  the  method 
employed  was  that  of  "poling",  that  is,  the  location  of  the 
stone  was  determined  by  feeling  under  the  water  in  the  mud 
with  a  long  wooden  pole  for  which  an   iron   rod  was  later 

64 


substituted.  In  this  way  many  of  the  present  walls  were 
built. 

After  the  company  opened  an  agency  in  Providence, 
means  of  transportation  became  necessary,  and  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Fall  River  &  Providence  Steamboat  line 
naturally  followed. 

The  Fall  River  &  Providence  Steamboat  Company  was 
noted  for  its  regularity  and  punctuality.  When  the  sailing 
time  arrived,  the  boat  sailed,  leaving  for  the  next  trip  such 
passengers  and  freight  as  were  not  on  board.  In  order  to 
fill  promptly  the  orders  of  the  Providence  agency,  the  steamers 
sailed  every  day,  except  Sunday,  though  in  severe  winter 
weather  it  sometimes  made  necessary  the  employment  of  a 
large  number  of  men  with  saws  and  other  tools  to  cut  a  way 
through  the  ice  from  the  wharf.  Occasionally  in  mid-winter 
it  was  necessary  to  cut  a  channel  in  this  way  as  far  as  Mount 
Hope  and  sometimes  even  to  Bristol  Ferry. 

The  steamer  King  Philip  was  built  as  an  ice-breaker, 
and  met  her  designer's  expectations.  In  meeting  ice,  her 
bow  rose  and  slid  along  the  top  till  the  boat's  weight  caused 
it  to  break.  She  was  also  the  first  steamboat  in  American 
waters  to  carry  a  steam  whistle. 

The  company,  which  also  owned  wharf  property  and 
buildings  at  Bristol  and  Bristol  Ferry,  found  it  necessary  to 
dredge  its  docks  from  time  to  time,  and  accordingly  built  a 
dredger  of  its  own,  the  power  for  which  was  furnished  by  six 
horses  driven  around  a  circle  in  the  hold. 

As  the  iron  works  grew  and  castings  became  necessary, 
a  large  foundry  was  built  on  the  north  side  of  Mill  street,  a 
short  distance  east  of  Pond  street. 

The  company  deemed  it  unwise  to  undertake  coal  mining, 
but  several  of  its  owners  purchased  a  large  tract  at  Frostburg, 
Md.,  and  mined  coal  which  was  sold  in  the  open  market  as 
well  as  to  the  Iron  Works  Co.  This  venture,  like  the  others, 
was  very  profitable. 

The  same  owners,  with  others,  also  built  vessels  to  bring 
coal,  iron,  iron  ore,  etc.,  to  the  works  and  to  carry  away  the 
finished  product.  These  had  a  carrying  capacity  of  from  about 
100  to  450  tons,  and  among  them  were  the  sloops  Ann   B. 

65 


Holmes  and  Isaac  H.  Borden  and  the  schooners  Sea  Bird, 
Minerva,  Richard  Borden,  Ellen  Barnes,  Jane  F.  Durfee, 
Iram  Smith,  Enoch  Pratt,  Daniel  Brown,  Sallie  Smith,  Orion, 
Saphronia,  Anna  M.  Edwards,  Ney,  Martha  Wrightington, 
Thomas  Borden,  Matthew  C.  Durfee,  Carleton  Jayne  and 
Fountain. 

A  marine  railway  was  early  a  part  of  the  company's 
plant.  This  was  originally  near  the  present  wharf  station, 
but  was  later  removed  to  a  point  on  the  shore  where  the 
company's  cotton  mills  now  stand.  The  railway's  buildings 
were  leased  to  various  persons,  who  maintained  shipyards  till 
about  the  time  of  the  sale  of  the  property  to  M.  C.  D.  Borden. 
The  last  vessels  were  built  here  in  the  early  70s  and  were  the 
schooners  D.  M.  Anthony  and  Carrie  S.  Hart  and  the  barken- 
tine  David  A.  Brayton,  all  of  about  800  tons  capacity. 

Feeling  that  the  Fall  River  Line  was  not  making  fair 
freight  rates  to  New  York,  local  parties  in  1866  purchased 
from  the  government  the  steamer  United  States  and  estab- 
lished an  independent  freight  line.  Subsequently,  the  Alba- 
tross was  bought  from  the  same  source,  and  the  line  was 
continued  for  some  years,  but  was  finally  taken  over  by  the 
older  company. 

The  first  freighter  used  in  these  waters  is  supposed  to 
have  been  the  sloop  Irene  and  Betsey,  owned  by  Richard  and 
Jefferson  Borden,  which  was  probably  the  forerunner  of  the 
Fall  River  &  Providence  Steamboat  Company. 

The  latter  company,  as  it  was  the  first  to  install  a  steam 
whistle  on  its  steamers,  was  also  the  first  to  equip  a  vessel 
with  a  calliope.  The  Canonicus  carried  such  an  instrument, 
but  it  was  soon  found  that  its  music,  while  pleasing  at  a 
distance,  was  not  satisfying  to  those  on  board  and  it  was 
removed.  There  was  also  difficulty  in  obtaining  sufficient 
steam  for  both  the  engines  and  the  calliope. 

Among  the  earlier  excursion  steamers  in  the  harbor  were 
the  Jennie  Lind,  the  Teaser,  the  Young  American  and  Water 
Lily  which  were  run  between  Taunton  and  points  along  the 
bay.  The  Teaser  was  a  "stern-wheeler",  or  "wheelbarrow", 
having  a  paddle  wheel  at  the  stern,  extending  the  entire 
width  of  the  boat.     This  type  was  then  common  and  is  still 

66 


seen  on  southern  inland  waters  where  only  light  draught 
vessels  can  be  used. 

The  beginning  of  what  afterward  became  the  Dyer 
Transportation  Company  was  in  the  square-ended  scow 
schooner  Nimrod,  used  by  Capt.  Henry  Dyer,  who,  tiring  of 
his  occupation  as  a  tailor,  turned  master  mariner.  The 
scarcity  of  wharves  did  not  inconvenience  him,  for  he  ran  his 
schooner  on  the  shore  when  the  tide  was  full,  so  that  she 
could  be  loaded  or  discharged  at  low  tide  from  wagons  that 
had  driven  alongside.  When  the  tide  was  high  again,  sail 
was  made,  and  the  craft  departed  for  the  next  port.  She 
was  run  to  Newport,  Providence,  Taunton,  and,  at  times,  to 
New  Bedford.  She  was  followed  by  the  Dart,  built  in  1837, 
which  was  supplanted  by  the  Caroline,  built  here  in  1858,  and 
later  by  the  steamer  William  Marvel,  which  connected  at 
Providence  with  steamship  lines  for  Philadelphia,  Norfolk 
and  Baltimore. 

The  large  hat-making  business  of  James  Marshall  &  Bros., 
employing  1500  hands,  has  grown  from  a  small  hat  concern 
moved  here  from  Bridgeport,  Conn.,  about  1887,  until  now  it 
makes  7,200  dozen  derby  hats  a  day,  as  well  as  soft  hats  and 
hats  for  women  and  children,  and  has  lately  established  a 
department  for  the  making  of  straw  hats.  The  New  England 
Fur  Cutting  Company  was  organized  in  1893  for  cutting  hat- 
ters' fur  and  skins  for  fur  garments,  and  the  making  of  fur 
caps,  muffs,  etc.  In  a  single  year  this  plant  now  uses  more 
than  9,000,000  rabbit  skins  in  producing  fur  not  only  for  the 
hat  factory  but  also  for  other  manufacturers  throughout  the 
country. 

The  Cote  Piano  Mfg.  Co.,  which  began  business  on 
Pocasset  street  some  years  ago,  and  subsequently  moved  to 
Alden  street,  has  become  one  of  the  largest  factories  of  its 
kind  in  the  United  States.  It  makes  every  part  of  the  piano 
and  employs  375  hands.  Last  year  it  manufactured  7,000 
instruments. 

The  making  of  braids,  loop  banding,  lacings,  etc.,  has 
also  become  a  considerable  industry  in  recent  years,  and 
several  plants  are  devoted  to  the  production  of  goods  known 
under  the  general  name  of  narrow  fabrics,  to  which   have 

67 


been  added  in  some  cases,  cotton  rope  and  clothes  lines.  The 
most  recent  is  the  Standard  Fabric  Co. ,  which  has  a  capital 
of  $150,000,  and  is  now  erecting  a  mill  in  the  eastern  section. 

A  large  machine  shop  was  formerly  operated  on  Pond 
street  by  a  firm  that  in  the  latter  part  of  its  history  was  known 
as  Marvel  &  Davol.  It  made  machinery  for  cotton  manufac- 
turing, specializing  on  mules,  and  in  1870  employed  250  men. 
It  was  established  in  1821,  in  a  building  of  the  Pocasset  Mfg. 
Co.,  as  Harris,  Hawes  &  Co.  and  afterward  became  0.  S. 
Hawes  &  Co.  and  still  later,  in  1841,  Hawes,  Marvel  &  Davol. 
The  name  was  changed  to  Marvel  &  Davol  in  1857,  and  the 
shops  subsequently  purchased  and  operated  by  the  Fall  River 
Machine  Co.  until  after  1900. 

During  the  height  of  the  whaling  from  this  port,  between 
1840  and  1850,  an  oil  refinery  was  carried  on  in  a  stone  build- 
ing still  standing  on  Pardee  &  Young's  Wharf,  then  known  as 
the  "Oil  Companies  Wharf." 

The  manufacture  of  oil  cloth  was  another  early  industry. 
There  were  at  one  time  three  plants  engaged  in  this  business, 
one  on  the  shore,  south  of  the  American  Linen  Co.,  one  on 
Bedford  street  and  one  at  Bowenville. 

The  city  has  large  quarries  of  excellent  granite,  from 
which  several  important  buildings  have  been  constructed, 
notably  the  city  hall,  Granite  Block,  St.  Mary's  cathedral  and 
the  Slade  school.  The  lower  story  of  the  B.  M.  C.  Durfee 
high  school  building  is  also  of  this  material,  which  has  like- 
wise been  used  in  the  building  of  wharves  and  in  the  con- 
struction of  many  of  the  mills.  Fall  River  granite  has  also 
been  used  in  some  buildings  at  Newport,  R.  I.  The  quarries 
are  in  the  eastern  section,  and  give  employment  to  a  consider- 
able number  of  men. 


WATUPPA  RESERVOIR  COMPANY 

Through  history  passed  down  from  one  generation  to 
another,  we  learn  that  very  early  in  the  nineteenth  century  a 
primitive  dam  had  been  constructed  across  the  Quequechan 
river  in  the  vicinity  of  the  present  Watuppa  dam,   for  the 

68 


purpose  of  providing  a  constant  supply  of  water  for  a  small 
business  (the  nature  of  which  is  unknown)  carried  on  at  that 
point.  On  the  building-  of  the  Troy  Cotton  &  Woolen  Manu- 
factory in  1813  this  dam  gave  way  to  the  dam  of  that  company, 
by  which  the  water  in  the  river  was  raised  to  a  point  three 
feet  above  its  original  level.  As  business  along  the  Queque- 
chan  increased,  it  became  evident  that  if  the  mills  were  to  run 
throughout  the  year,  the  waters  of  the  Watuppa  ponds  must 
be  stored  in  times  of  flood  for  use  in  time  of  drought.  Accord- 
ingly, in  1826,.an  act  of  the  Legislature  (Mass.  Special  Laws  of 
1826,  Chapter  31)  was  obtained,  incorporating  the  Watuppa 
Reservoir  Company.  The  names  of  the  incorporators  being  as 
follows:  David  Anthony,  Nathaniel  B.  Borden,  Oliver  Chace, 
and  Bradford  Durf ee.  The  object  of  the  incorporation,  as  given 
in  the  Act,  was,  "for  the  purpose  of  constructing  a  reservoir 

of  water  in  the  Watuppa  ponds for  the  benefit  of 

the  manufacturing  establishments  on  Fall  River;  and,  for  this 
purpose,  shall  have  all  the  privileges  and  immunities,  and  be 
subject  to  all  the  duties  and  requirements  contained  in  an  act 
passed  on  the  third  day  of  March  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  nine  "entitled  an  act  defining  the 
general  powers  and  duties  of  manufacturing  corporations," 
and  the  several  acts  in  addition  thereto." 

Section  2  of  this  act  provided  that  the  company  should 
have  power  "by  erecting  a  dam  across  the  outlet  of  said  ponds 

to  raise  the  water  in  said  ponds,  two  feet  higher 

than  the  dam  already  erected  by  the  Troy  Cotton  and  Woolen 
Manufactory." 

Section  4  provided  "that  the  capital  stock  of  said  corpora- 
tion shall  be  divided  into  one  hundred  shares." 

Section  5  provided  that  said  corporation  should  be  "liable 
for  damages  to  any  person  by  flooding." 

Preparing  to  act  under  authority  given,  the  company 
proceeded  to  settle  with  the  owners  of  land  adjacent  to  the 
Quequechan  river  and  to  each  of  the  two  Watuppa  ponds  for 
the  damage  they  were  to  sustain  by  the  flowage  of  their  land. 
Most  of  these  settlements  were  easily  obtained.  In  som'e 
cases,  however,  the  price  demanded  and  received  was  quite 
large.     In  quite  a  number  of  instances,  public  spirited  indi- 

69 


viduals  refused  to  make  any  claim,  believing  it  a  work  of 
great  public  benefit  which  should  be  assisted  rather  than  dis- 
couraged. 

That  the  business  of  this  time  was  conducted  by  men 
possessing  great  foresight  is  attested  by  the  fact  that  the 
company  refused  to  take  advantage  of  any  person's  liberality 
and  insisted  on  paying  for  the  privilege,  even  if  but  a  nominal 
sum.  Such  sums  were  received  with  a  "Thank  you",  and  the 
agent  in  every  case  took  a  receipt  for  the  money  paid.  This 
receipt  found  safe  lodgement  in  the  company's  strong  box 
and  was  found  of  great  value  later. 

The  Watuppa  dam  now  standing  in  the  rear  of  the  Troy 
building  was  constructed  under  authority  of  this  act,  and  is 
capable  of  holding  the  waters  of  the  Watuppa  ponds  at  an 
elevation  five  feet  above  the  original  height  of  the  ponds, 
thereby  increasing  the  capacity  of  the  ponds  5,133,234,600 
gallons.  It  is  easy  to  understand  the  difficulties  encountered 
in  the  running  of  machinery  on  a  stream  where  from  six  to 
eight  months  of  the  year  flood  conditions  prevailed,  while 
during  the  remainder  of  the  year  there  were  times  when  very 
little  water  could  be  depended  upon.  Owing  to  the  long  work- 
day then  the  rule  (often  extending  from  daylight  to  dark) 
the  quantity  of  water  used  was  much  in  excess  of  what  would 
be  required  at  the  present  time. 

The  Watuppa  Reservoir  Company  is  still  in  existence,  its 
stock  being  held  by  several  of  the  mills  located  on  the  river. 

Until  within  a  few  years  this  company  held  absolute  con- 
trol of  the  water  in  the  Quequechan  but  by  the  terms  of  a  recent 
agreement,  such  control  (under  certain  restrictions)  is  vested 
in  the  Fall   River  Iron   Works  Company  or  its  management. 

The  original  outlet  of  the  river  was  into  the  creek  south 
of  Central  street  mentioned  elsewhere. 

About  1835  a  canal  was  constructed  to  conduct  the  water 
into  what  is  known  as  Crab  pond.  This  pond  was  formed  by 
the  construction  of  a  dam  across  the  outlet  of  a  body  of  salt 
water  originally  known  as  "Long  pond"  in  which  the  tide 
ebbed  and  flowed  but  which  was  at  low  tide  a  pond.     The 


Note— None  of  the  mills  now  depend  exclusively  on  water  for  power. 

70 


depth  of  water  was  thereby  increased  about  fourteen  feet, 
adding  greatly  to  its  capacity.  This  for  many  years  furnished 
power  for  the  American  Print  Works  and  the  Fall  River  Iron 
Works  and  is  still  used  by  the  printing  company  in  connection 
with  its  business.  For  many  years  ice  was  cut  here  for 
domestic  use.  An  ice  house  stood  on  the  west  side  of  the  pond 
on  what  was  known  as  "High  Hill,"  and  near  by  stood  a  stone 
"powder  house"  owned  by  the  Iron  Works  Company. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  POWER  FOR  THE 
MANUFACTORIES 

During  the  earlier  period  of  the  development  of  manu- 
facturing, the  plants  were  small  and  could  not  be  very  large 
as  the  available  water  power  was  limited,  and  the  water 
wheels  were  crude,  clumsy  and  inefficient. 

The  water  wheels  first  installed  were  probably  of  the  type 
known  as  the  breast  wheel,  which  was  not  so  efficient  as  the 
more  modern  type  of  turbine  water  wheels.  The  first  tur- 
bines were  made  with  revolving  shaft  vertical  and  a  pair 
of  bevel  gear  wheels  to  transmit  the  rotation  of  the  vertical 
shaft  to  a  horizontal  shaft.  Later  horizontal  water  wheels  of 
higher  speed  having  the  revolving  shaft  horizontal  and  the 
power  transmitted  therefrom  by  belts,  were  installed  in  most 
of  the  plants  on  the  Quequechan  river. 

The  height  of  fall  and  power  of  the  several  plants  were 
as  follows: 

Height  of  fall  Power 

Troy  Cotton  &  Woolen  Mfg.     10  to  15  ft.  150.6  H.P. 

Pocasset  Mfg.  Co.  21.67  "  225.4 

Quequechan  21.00  "  218.4 

Watuppa  15.38  "  160. 

Fall  River  Print  Works  10.00  "  104. 

Fall  River  Mfy.  14.46  "  150.4 

Annawan  Mfy.  14.73  "  153.2 

Metacomet  Mfg.  Co.  16.18  "  148.2 

The  last  mentioned  discharging  into  tide  water,  varied  in 
height  of  fall  and  power  and  the  Troy  varied  as  to  fall  and 
power  according  to  the  height  of  water  in  the  pond. 

71 


When  the  demand  for  larger  capacity  in  the  manufac- 
tories became  more  pressing  the  power  was  supplemented  by 
the  steam  engine.  As  the  supply  of  water  decreased  from 
drought  and  overusing  the  flow  of  the  stream,  larger  engines 
were  installed,  capable  of  driving  the  whole  of  the  machinery. 
Until  this  time  the  mills  on  the  Quequechan  river  having  all 
the  available  water  power  were  the  only  factories  built,  except 
some  at  Globe  Village.  When  the  steam  engine  was  required 
by  these  mills,  it  placed  them  in  a  position  to  invite  competi- 
tion and  other  factories  w^ere  erected  in  various  parts  of  the 
town. 

The  Massasoit  Steam  Mills,  situated  on  Davol  street  near 
the  shore  of  the  bay,  was  probably  the  first  factory  in  Fall 
River  driven  wholly  by  steam  power.  This  mill  was  erected 
about  1845  and  destroyed  by  fire  in  1875. 

The  next  factory  driven  entirely  by  steam  power  was  the 
Wamsutta  Steam  Woolen  Mills  situated  near  Pleasant  street  on 
the  shore  of  the  upper  Quequechan  river  from  which  it  derived 
the  water  used  for  making  steam  and  for  condensing  the  steam 
after  passing  through  the  engine.  This  mill  was  erected  in 
1849  and  still  stands. 

The  Union  Mill  on  Pleasant  street  was  one  of  the  earlier 
steam  driven  factories  and  was  erected  about  the  year  1860 
just  before  the  Civil  War. 

This  factory  was  the  first  in  town  to  be  heated  in  winter 
with  exhaust  steam  from  the  engine. 

This  engine  was  one  of  the  Corliss  type  afterwards  famous 
throughout  the  manufacturing  world.  It  was  in  fact,  two 
single  cylinder  engines  having  a  common  shaft  with  cranks  on 
each  end.  The  steam  entered  the  cylinder  pushing  forward  the 
piston  part  of  the  stroke  then  the  supply  was  cut  off  and  the 
steam  in  the  cylinder  expanded  to  about  atmospheric  pressure, 
when  it  was  allowed  to  escape  into  another  chamber  and 
condensed,  forming  a  vacuum  on  the  return  stroke  of  the 
piston  thus  increasing  the  power  about  25  per  cent  over  the 
non-condensing  type.  One  of  the  two  cylinders  was  so  made 
that  the  exhaust  from  each  end  was  separated.  In  cold 
weather  the  steam  from  both  ends  was  exhausted  and  used 
for  heating  the  buildings  and  for  dressing  the  warps  for  the 
looms. 

72 


In  warm  weather  when  no  heat  was  required  in  the  build- 
ing only  steam  from  one  end  of  the  cylinder  was  exhausted 
for  dressing  the  warps,  the  steam  from  the  other  end  being 
exhausted  into  the  condenser. 

When  this  engine  was  installed  it  was  understood  the 
contract  stipulated  that  the  price  for  the  steam  plant  should 
be  a  certain  sum  or  the  saving  for  a  period  of  time,  over  the 
former  manner  of  running  engines  in  factories. 

This  was  an  unusual  proposition  and  after  running  the 
plant  as  designed,  for  only  a  short  time,  the  management  saw 
that  it  was  for  its  advantage  to  pay  the  stipulated  amount 
at  once  rather  than  pay  over  the  saving  for  the  length  of  time 
proposed,  as  the  economy  was  so  great  and  satisfactory. 

This  form  or  type  of  engine  was  used  in  most  of  the 
subsequent  factories  erected  until  the  building  of  the  Globe 
Yarn  Mills  No.  2  in  1886-7  when  the  first  compound  condensing 
engine  was  installed.  The  compound  engine  consisted  of  two 
cylinders,  the  smaller  one  called  the  high  and  the  other  the  low 
pressure  cylinders.  The  steam  first  entered  the  high  pressure 
cylinder  and  after  following  the  piston  part  of  the  stroke 
the  supply  was  cut  off  and  the  steam  in  the  cylinder  allowed 
to  expand  to  about  eight  to  ten  pounds  pressure  when  it  was 
exhausted  into  the  larger  cylinder  and  expanded  in  same  to  a 
vacuum  by  condensing  the  steam  on  the  return  stroke,  thus 
increasing  the  power  derived  from  the  same  amount  of  steam 
that  was  formerly  used  in  the  simple  condensing  type  of 
engine  heretofore  used. 

Since  that  time  most  of  the  factories  erected  have  in- 
stalled compound  engines  and  nearly  all  of  the  older  mills 
have  replaced  the  simple  condensing  engines  with  the  com- 
pound condensing  type. 

The  economy  of  the  compound  condensing  engine  over 
the  simple  condensing  type  is  about  33  per  cent,  or,  in  other 
words,  it  requires  in  the  modern  compound  condensing  engine 
less  than  two  thirds  the  amount  or  weight  of  steam,  that  is 
required  in  the  simple  condensing  engine,  which  in  our  mill 
plants  of  large  powers  amounts  to  a  considerable  saving. 

Of  late  years  the  electric  drive  has  come  into  use  in  many 
cases,  especially  when  the  power  is  to  be  transmitted  some 
distance  from  the  engine. 

73 


The  electricity  is  usually  produced  on  the  mill  plant  by 
direct  connection  of  the  generator  with  the  steam  engine,  and 
the  current  of  electricity  sent  over  suitable  wires  or  cables  to 
the  motors  in  the  various  buildings  or  rooms  of  the  factory. 

Systems  have  been  introduced  of  compound  non-con- 
densing engines  which  furnish  part  of  the  power  required, 
and  which  is  transmitted  direct  to  the  shafting  in  the  factory 
by  belts,  and  the  steam,  in  place  of  being  condensed  from  the 
engine,  is  passed  on  through  suitable  pipes  into  a  low  pressure 
steam  turbine  and  afterwards  condensed,  forming  a  very  high 
vacuum,  thus  producing  additional  power  without  increase  of 
the  amount  of  steam  used. 

This  combination  of  compound  engine  and  low  pressure 
turbine  makes  an  increased  economy  of  sixteen  to  twenty  per 
cent,  over  the  usual  compound  condensing  engine. 

This  arrangement  brings  the  power  question  up  to  date 
and  highest  economy.  The  power  used  in  our  modern  factories 
varies  according  to  the  size  of  the  plant,  in  some  cases  being 
as  high  as  2500  to  3000  horse  power  while  in  the  mills  of  the 
earlier  periods  of  our  history  the  power  used  was  probably 
not  much  more  than  125  to  200  horse  power  according  to  the 
fall  of  the  water.  Speed  of  engines  has  increased  from  less 
than  50  to  120  revolutions  per  minute  or  a  piston  speed  of  960 
feet  per  minute,  and  a  belt  speed  of  over  a  mile  per  minute. 

BANKS  AND  BANKING 

With  four  national  banks,  a  trust  company,  four  savings 
banks  and  four  co-operative  banks,  Fall  River  furnishes  ample 
financial  facilities  to  all.  The  history  of  the  institutions  shows 
not  a  single  failure  in  their  long  career. 

Fall  River  was  one  of  the  earliest  communities  in  the 
United  States  to  establish  a  savings  bank,  it  was  also  one  of 
the  first  to  start  a  five  cents  savings  bank,  and  the  more  than 
$22,000,000  in  deposits  now  standing  to  the  credit  of  the  55,000 
depositors  in  the  four  savings  institutions  show  the  value  of 
these  banks  to  the  community  and  the  extent  to  which  they 
are  appreciated.     The  same  may  be  said,   and  with  equal 

74 


justice,  of  the  more  than  40,000  shares  in  local  co-operative 
banks  now  outstanding,  representing  a  sum  in  excess  of 
$2,000,000  due  to  shareholders. 

The  four  national  banks  of  the  city  showed  by  recent 
reports  in  1911  a  combined  capital  of  $2,200,000,  deposits  of 
$6,354,000  and  surplus  and  undivided  profits  of  $1,589,000 
while  the  B.  M.  C.  Durfee  Safe  Deposit  &  Trust  Co.  reported 
deposits  of  $2,363,000  and  surplus  and  undivided  profits  of 
$460,000. 

The  oldest  of  the  city's  banks  is  the  Fall  River  National, 
incorporated  in  1825  as  the  Fall  River  Bank,  and  for  over  20 
years  the  only  bank  of  discount  here.  It  became  a  national 
institution  in  1864.  Its  first  building  was  of  brick  on  the  site 
occupied  by  the  present  banking  house,  and  was  erected  in 
1826.  It  was  burned  in  1843  but  rebuilt.  The  building  now 
occupied  was  erected  in  1892. 

The  oldest  of  the  saving  banks  is  the  Fall  River  Savings 
Bank,  which  was  chartered  in  1828,  only  12  years  after  the 
establishment  of  the  first  savings  bank  in  the  country.  It  was 
first  known  as  the  Fall  River  Institution  for  Savings,  but 
changed  the  name  to  the  present  title  in  April,  1855.  It  was 
located  in  the  oflnce  or  store  of  the  man  who  was  its  treasurer 
at  the  time,  until  about  1844,  when  it  occupied  a  part  of  the 
rooms  now  used  by  the  Fall  River  Five  Cents  Savings  Bank, 
removing  to  its  present  building  in  1869. 

The  National  Union  Bank  was  chartered  in  1823  as  the 
Bristol  Union  Bank  of  Bristol,  R.  I.,  but  removed  to  Tiverton 
in  1830,  changed  its  name  to  the  Fall  River  Union  Bank  and 
erected  a  brick  building  on  the  corner  of  South  Main  and 
Rodman  streets  in  1837.  The  change  in  the  boundary  line 
in  1862  brought  it  within  Massachusetts  territory,  and  it 
removed  to  the  southwest  corner  of  city  hall.  It  became  the 
National  Union  Bank  in  1865  and  again  removed  to  Number  3 
Main  street,  where  it  occupied  quarters  with  the  Union 
Savings  Bank  till  it  was  merged  with  the  Massasoit-Pocasset 
in  1903. 

The  Massasoit  Bank,  organized  in  1846,  became  a  national 
institution  in  1864.  Its  office  was  at  the  corner  of  North  Main 
and  Franklin  streets  till  1876,  when  it  removed  to  the  north- 

75 


east  corner  of  Main  and  Bedford.  In  1884,  it  again  transferred 
its  office  to  the  northwest  corner  of  Bedford  street  and 
Court  Square,  and  in  1889  it  erected  the  building  at  the  corner 
of  Bedford  and  Second  streets;  this  was  removed  in  1910  to 
make  way  for  the  new  structure  of  its  successor,  the  Massasoit- 
Pocasset  National  Bank. 

The  Metacomet  Bank  dates  from  1853  and  carried  on  its 
business  at  the  corner  of  Anawan  and  Water  streets,  on  the 
second  floor,  in  what  is  now  the  office  of  the  American  Print- 
ing Company,  until  1876,  when  it  removed  to  an  office  on  the 
corner  of  South  Main  and  Pleasant  streets,  in  the  Borden 
Block.  It  erected  its  present  building  in  1888,  and  remodelled 
it  in  1910.  It  became  a  national  bank  in  1865,  and  in  1903 
f)urchased  the  Second  National,  formerly  the  Wamsutta.  The 
latter  was  chartered  in  1856  and  became  a  national  institution 
in  1864,  changing  its  name  to  the  Second  National.  It  occu- 
pied an  office  with  the  Fall  River  Five  Cents  Savings. 

The  Pocasset  Bank  was  incorporated  in  Rhode  Island  in 
1854,  and  carried  on  business  at  South  Main  and  Rodman 
streets,  till  after  the  change  in  the  boundary  line,  when  it 
removed  to  the  northwest  corner  of  city  hall.  In  1872  it 
erected  the  building  now  occupied  by  the  Citizens  Savings 
Bank.  It  had  become  a  national  institution  in  1865,  and  was 
merged  in  the  new  Massasoit-Pocasset  when  that  was  formed 
in  1903  by  the  combination  of  the  Pocasset,  the  Massasoit 
National  and  the  National  Union. 

The  First  National  Bank,  the  first  to  be  formed  here 
under  the  federal  banking  law,  was  organized  Jan.  23,  1864, 
and  was  located  at  the  southwest  corner  of  Main  and  Central 
streets,  in  Granite  Block,  till  it  occupied  its  present  building 
in  1888. 

The  B.  M.  C.  Durfee  Safe  Deposit  &  Trust  Co.  was 
chartered  in  1887,  when  it  took  over  the  private  banking  busi- 
ness of  B.  M.  C.  Durfee  &  Co.,  a  partnership  composed  of 
Mr.  Durfee  and  John  S.  Brayton. 

The  Citizens  Savings  Bank  was  formerly  The  Savings 
Bank  of  Tiverton  and  was  organized  in  1851  and  occupied 
rooms  with  the  Fall  River  Union  Bank.  After  the  change  in 
the  state  line  it  was  authorized  to  do  business  in  Massachusetts 

76 


and  assumed  its  present  title.  It  occupied  rooms  with  the 
Pocasset  Bank  in  the  northwest  corner  of  city  hall  until  1873, 
when  it  removed  to  its  present  quarters. 

The  Fall  River  Five  Cents  Savings  was  incorporated  in 
1855  and  the  Union  Savings  in  1869.  The  latter's  office  was 
in  the  southwest  corner  of  city  hall  until  1872,  when  it  removed 
to  the  location  on  Main  street  where  it  erected  its  present 
building  in  1897. 

Of  the  co-operative  banks,  the  Troy  is  the  oldest.  It 
dates  from  1880  and  until  1883  was  known  as  the  Troy 
Co-operative  Savings  Fund  and  Loan  Association.  The 
People's  Co-operative  was  organized  in  1882,  as  the  People's 
Savings  Fund  &  Loan  Association,  but  took  its  present  name 
shortly  after;  the  Fall  River  Co-operative  Bank  in  1888  and 
the  Lafayette  Co-operative  Bank  in  1894, 


SCHOOLS 


The  small  beginning  from  which  the  city's  present 
extensive  school  system  has  grown,  are  perhaps,  illustrated 
by  nothing  better  than  by  the  early  appropriations  for  the 
support  of  the  schools.  In  1804,  the  year  after  the  town  was 
separated  from  Freetown,  the  amount  raised  to  pay  the 
expenses  of  the  town  schools  was  but  $250,  and  this  was  to 
be  divided  among  the  several  districts  in  proportion  to  the 
number  of  their  inhabitants.  More  than  20  years  later,  in 
1825,  the  appropriation  was  only  $600,  which  was  divided 
among  ten  districts,  having  391  families. 

The  early  buildings  were  few  and  small,  and  a  map  of 
1812  shows  but  three  schoolhouses,  one  near  the  present  corner 
of  South  Main  and  Hamlet  streets,  one  near  the  corner  of 
North  Main  and  Prospect  streets,  and  one  at  Steep  Brook. 
Private  schools  were  common,  and  in  1826  were  more  numer- 
ous than  those  maintained  at  public  expense.  In  the  year 
named,  there  were  14  private  institutions  and  12  public  schools. 

The  earliest  school  report  in  the  possession  of  the  public 
library  is  that  for  1842-43,  and  this,  with  the  reports  for  the 

77 


next  few  years,  gives  a  fairly  good  picture  of  the  schools  of 
those  days.  The  town  was  divided  into  14  districts,  each  with 
a  prudential  committee  of  one,  and  there  was  a  general  school 
committee  of  three,  elected  by  the  town.  The  system  was  very 
unsatisfactory,  and  the  general  committee  was  outspoken  in 
its  condemnation.  One  district  had  no  school  building, 
and  school  was  kept  in  '  'an  unfinished  room  in  an  unfinished 
house,"  separated  from,  the  living  apartments  of  the  family 
only  by  a  small  partition.  In  other  instances,  the  buildings 
were  altogether  too  small,  in  poor  condition  and  often  unfit 
for  school  purposes.  Discipline  in  many  schools  was  poor, 
owing  to  the  youth  and  inexperience  of  the  teachers  and  the 
presence  of  unruly  boys. 

There  was  also  "a  lamentable  deficiency  of  books",  and 
in  one  district '  'at  a  late  visitation  of  the  committee,  he  found 
but  a  single  volume  in  the  whole  school  authorized  to  be  used 
in  our  schools."  Until  about  1846,  when  the  town  appropri- 
ated $850  for  their  purchase,  maps,  globes  and  other  apparatus 
were  rare.  In  1843  but  one  schoolhouse  in  the  town  had  a 
bell,  and  as  the  districts  did  not  seem  inclined  to  purchase 
bells,  the  committee  suggested  an  arrangement  with  the 
Pocasset  Mfg.  Co.  for  ringing  its  mill  bell  in  the  hope  of 
reducing  the  cases  of  tardiness.  After  the  fire  of  that  year, 
when  the  Anawan  street  building  was  burned,  school  was 
held  in  the  lecture  room  of  the  Unitarian  church. 

The  reports  criticise  the  conditions  in  each  school  and  the 
success  or  failure  of  the  teachers,  by  name,  with  startling 
frankness.  That  of  1843-44  declares  that  the  custom  of 
building  cheap  schools  and  employing  cheap  schoolmasters  is 
not  yet  obsolete,  and  says  that  "there  is  not  a  single  school 
room  in  this  town  where  provision  is  made,  as  it  should  be, 
for  the  escape  of  bad  air  and  the  introduction  of  that  which 
is  pure  and  fresh. ' ' 

Schools  were  frequently  closed  from  lack  of  funds,  and 
the  report  just  quoted  says,  relative  to  this,  that  "when  one- 
half  of  the  grammar  schools  in  a  town  like  Fall  River  are 
suspended  a  part  of  the  year  for  the  want  of  funds,  so  that 
one  man  can  send  his  children  to  school  the  entire  year  and 
his  nearest  neighbor,  who  pays  the  same  tax,  can  send  his 

78 


children  only  two-thirds  of  the  year,  there  must  be  something 
radically  wrong  in  the  arrangement  of  the  districts." 

In  some  of  the  schools  only  winter  terms  were  kept,  and 
in  many,  men  taught  in  winter,  when  the  big  boys  attended, 
and  women  in  summer.  In  the  earlier  reports,  the  standard 
pay  for  the  women  teachers  was  $16.25  a  month,  or  $195  a 
year.  A  few  years  later  some  received  $200  a  year,  paid 
quarterly,  and  some  $220.  The  teachers  were  selected  and 
contracted  for  by  the  prudential  committee  of  each  district, 
and  then  presented  to  the  general  committee  for  examination. 

In  1841-42  the  town  raised  by  taxation  but  $2.35  for  each 
child  between  4  and  16  years  of  age,  and  the  committee 
constantly  urged,  in  its  early  reports,  the  need  of  more  funds. 
The  total  school  appropriation  in  1842-3,  when  the  census 
showed  1943  children  between  4  and  16,  was  but  $5,455.66,  of 
which  $255.66  came  from  the  state.  In  1847-48  $7,000  was 
appropriated  by  the  town,  and  $455.87  received  from  the 
state. 

School  was  kept  on  Saturday  mornings,  and  for  46  weeks 
instead  of  40  as  at  present.  The  regulations  of  1844  provided 
that  school  should  be  held  from  9  A.  M.  until  12  throughout 
the  year,  and  in  the  afternoon  from  2  to  5  in  the  summer  and 
from  1:30  to  4:30  in  the  winter.  Three  vacations  were 
allowed  each  year,  two  weeks  from  the  last  Wednesday 
in  April,  three  weeks  from  the  third  Wednesday  in  July 
and  one  week  from  the  third  Wednesday  in  November. 
Fast  Day,  Thanksgiving,  Christmas,  the  Fourth  of  July  and 
every  Saturday  afternoon  were  holidays,  "and  none  other 
shall  be  allowed  except  by  special  vote  of  the  committee." 
By  1850  the  entire  day  on  Saturday  was  allowed  as  a  holiday, 
as  well  as  the  day  after  Thanksgiving,  but  there  were  still 
46  weeks  of  school  each  year. 

After  1845  the  schools  began  to  show  material  improve- 
ment, in  consequence  of  the  influence  of  the  state  normal 
school,  and  in  their  progress  kept  pace  with  the  other  schools 
of  the  commonwealth. 

About  this  time,  also,  a  beginning  was  made  in  the  con- 
struction of  larger  and  better  buildings.  The  present 
Anawan  schoolhouse  was  built  after  its  predecessor  of  that 

79 


name,  (a  remodelled  Congregational  church,)  had  been  burned 
in  the  fire  of  1843.  It  was  regarded  as  a  model,  with  "the 
most  perfect  school  room  in  Bristol  County",  to  quote  from  a 
statement  of  the  committee  in  1848.  The  High  street  build- 
ing followed  in  1846,  the  June  street  in  1849,  the  Columbia 
street  and  the  High  School  in  1852  and  the  Maple  street  in 
1855.  The  Morgan  street  dates  from  1868,  and  since  that 
time  buildings  have  rapidly  followed  each  other,  as  noted 
elsewhere,  as  the  city  has  grown.  Three  will  be  completed 
this  year  1911,  the  John  J.  McDonough,  the  William  J.  Wiley 
and  the  Hugo  A.  Dubuque.  Sixteen  other  brick  school  build- 
ings have  been  erected  and  occupied  in  the  last  20  years. 

Fall  River  was  one  of  the  earliest  communities  to  estab- 
lish a  high  school.  This  was  in  1849,  the  same  year  as  New 
York.  In  April  of  that  year  the  town  meeting  authorized  a 
high  school,  and  appropriated  $1,500  for  its  maintenance. 
The  first  session  was  held  on  May  10,  in  the  private  school 
which  stood  on  the  south  side  of  Franklin  Street,  east  of  Oak, 
occupied  by  George  B.  Stone,  who  became  the  first  principal. 
The  building  on  the  corner  of  Locust  and  June  streets,  later 
called  the  Foster  Hooper  school,  was  erected  for  high  school 
use  in  1852,  and  the  school  then  removed  to  this  structure, 
though  only  the  upper  room  was  seated  until  1868,  when  the 
teaching  of  French  was  begun  and  a  three  years'  English 
course  inaugurated.  When  the  school  grew  too  large  for  this 
building,  the  first  year  classes  were  held  in  the  Davenport 
school  house. 

Conditions  were  relieved  greatly  by  the  opening  in  1887, 
of  the  B.  M.  C.  Durfee  High  School,  the  finest  gift  ever 
made  to  the  city,  but  in  recent  years  even  this  has  been 
crowded  by  its  900  students,  and  a  new  technical  high  school 
of  four  floors  on  the  site  of  the  Foster  Hooper  and  June 
Street  buildings  was  begun  in  May,  1911. 

The  first  evening  school  was  opened  in  1848.  A  "factory 
school,"  probably  the  first  of  its  kind  in  the  State,  was 
organized  in  1868,  at  the  Anawan  building,  for  children  under 
15  years  of  age  working  in  the  mills,  who  were  required  by 
law  to  attend  school  12  weeks  in  the  year.  The  "factory 
school"  continued  forty-eight  weeks,  thus  accommodating 
four  sets  of  children  for  the  required  12  weeks  a  year. 

80 


A  school  for  truants  and  children  of  the  inmates  of  the 
almshouse  was  held  at  that  institution  for  many  years,  from 
about  1865  to  1890. 

The  district  system,  with  at  first  10  and  later  14  districts, 
was  retained  until  1864.  The  first  school  superintendent  was 
elected  the  following  year,  and  began  his  duties  in  the  fall 
of  1865. 

A  training  school  was  established  in  February,  1881,  in 
the  Robeson  School  building,  on  Columbia  street,  and  was  re- 
moved to  the  Osborn  Street  school  when  that  was  completed  in 
1891.  Special  instructors  in  music  and  drawing  were  appointed 
in  1887;  sewing,  which  had  twice  been  tried  for  a  short  time, 
was  permanently  introduced  in  1896,  and  the  teaching  of 
cooking  authorized  in  1911.  Manual  training  was  introduced 
with  the  opening  of  the  new  High  School  in  1887. 

The  providing  of  free  text  books,  thus  making  public 
education  absolutely  without  direct  cost  to  parents,  began  in 
April  1874,  this  city  being  the  first  in  the  state  to  introduce 
this  system.  Its  effects  in  relieving  heads  of  families  from  a 
considerable  expense,  in  the  prompt  supply  of  books  when 
needed  and  in  increased  attendance  were  so  satisfactory  that 
the  original  outlay,  though  considerable,  was  well  repaid. 
The  general  state  law  requiring  free  text  books  and  supplies 
did  not  go  into  effect  till  August,  1884. 

Parochial  schools  have  been  in  existence  here  for  many 
years,  and  many  of  them  are  well  appointed,  substantial  and 
up-to-date  structures,  St.  Mary's  Cathedral,  St.  Anne's, 
Notre  Dame,  St.  Patrick's,  St.  Louis,  St.  Joseph's,  the 
Sacred  Heart,  The  Blessed  Sacrament,  St.  Matthew's,  St. 
John  the  Baptist,  St.  Stanislaus,  St.  Roch's,  and  Espirito 
Santo,  each  support  a  parish  school. 

CHURCHES  AND  CHARITIES 

Fall  River  has  churches  of  many  denominations,  conveni- 
ently situated  in  all  parts  of  the  city,  and  the  stranger, 
whatever  his  creed,  is  sure  to  find  here  companies  of  those  in 
sympathy  with  him.  Many  of  the  edifices  are  noted  for 
their  architecture. 

81 


The  citizens  have  been  Hberal  in  their  gifts  to  charities, 
and  handsome  and  commodious  buildings  have  been  erected  for 
the  care  of  the  orphan,  the  aged  and  the  sick,  while  the  Boys' 
Club,  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  the  Women's 
Union,  the  Children's  Home  and  the  Bishop  Stang  Day 
Nursery  testify  to  work  along  other  lines. 

The  first  church  to  be  formed  in  what  is  now  Fall  River 
was  the  First  Baptist,  which  was  organized  with  30  members 
on  Feb.  15,  1781,  and  ordained  its  first  pastor  May  22,  1783. 
It  was  known  as  "The  Baptist  Church  in  Freetown,  Dart- 
mouth and  Tiverton."  The  records  are  fragmentary,  but  it 
appears  that  a  meeting-house  was  erected  near  the  Narrows 
about  1800,  and  that  at  this  time  the  name  was  changed  to 
"The  Second  Baptist  Church  in  Tiverton."  In  1828-29  a 
revival  took  place,  the  name  was  again  changed  to  "The 
First  Baptist  Church  in  Troy",  which  was  later  modified  to 
agree  with  the  change  in  the  name  of  the  town,  and  a  new 
church  built  on  South  Main  street  and  afterward  sold  to  the 
Episcopal  Society.  The  present  Baptist  Temple  was  erected 
and  the  first  service  held  there  July  1,  1840.  In  1847  the 
church  divided  and  the  Temple  was  sold  to  the  Second  Baptist 
Society,  which  still  occupies  it.  The  First  Baptist  Church 
worshipped  in  Union  Hall  till  its  present  edifice  on  North 
Main  street  was  completed  in  1850  and  dedicated  on  October 
23,  of  that  year. 

It  has  three  large  chapels — the  Broadway,  the  Brownell 
Street  and  the  Harrison  Street.  The  Broadway,  which,  like 
the  others,  started  as  a  Sunday  school,  began  in  1857,  and 
occupied  a  chapel  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Columbia  and 
Canal  streets,  later  sold  for  a  Portuguese  Catholic  church. 
Afterwards,  services  were  held  on  the  second  floor  of  the 
Ferry  Street  station  till  the  present  building  at  the  southeast 
corner  of  Broadway  and  William  street  was  completed.  The 
Brownell  street  chapel  was  organized  in  1871  as  the  Mechan- 
icsville  Baptist  church,  which  name  was  later  changed  to  its 
present  title.  The  Harrison  Street  Chapel  was  started  in 
1885. 

The  First  Congregational  Church  was  organized  January 
9,  1816,  but  had  no  regular  meeting  place  for  some  time.     In 

82 


1821-22  a  church  was  erected  on  a  portion  of  the  present 
Anawan  school  lot.  It  was  45  feet  long  and  36  feet  wide, 
and  had  a  vestry  underneath.  It  was  extended  25  feet  in 
1827  and  was  afterward  sold  to  the  Unitarian  Society,  and 
still  later  bought  by  the  school  district  and  converted  into  a 
schoolhouse.  It  was  burned  in  the  fire  of  1843.  The  present 
North  Main  Street  Church  was  built  in  1832  and  dedicated  on 
November  21.  A  clock  was  placed  in  the  steeple  the  follow- 
ing year.  Work  on  a  new  church  and  parish  house  on  Rock, 
Chei'ry  and  June  streets  was  begun  in  the  spring  of  1911. 

The  Friends  erected  a  meeting-house  on  the  North  Main 
street  lot  where  their  present  church  stands  in  1821.  This 
was  soon  found  to  be  too  small  and  was  sold  to  the  town  and 
removed  to  Rock  street,  opposite  the  present  high  school, 
where  it  was  used  for  a  school-house.  The  present  church 
was  built  in  1836.  The  denomination  has  a  mission  on 
Stafford  road. 

The  First  Christian  Church  was  organized  in  1829,  and 
erected  an  edifice  on  Franklin  street  the  following  year. 
This  was  burned  in  the  1843  fire,  and  the  present  church  then 
took  its  place. 

The  Unitarian  Society  was  formed  in  1832,  and  met  for  a 
time  in  the  Old  Line  Meeting  House  on  South  Main  street. 
It  then  bought  the  Congregational  church  on  Anawan  street, 
and  in  1835  dedicated  its  present  church,  which  then  stood 
on  the  southeast  corner  of  Borden  and  Second  streets,  and 
was  removed  to  the  location  it  now  occupies  on  North  Main 
street  in  1860-61. 

The  oldest  of  the  Primitive  Methodist  churches  is  the 
First  P.  M.  Church,  incorporated  in  1874,  though  the  first 
meetings  of  the  denomination  had  been  held  three  years 
previously.  The  church  was  completed  in  1875  and  the 
school  room  on  Dover  street  in  1888.  The  Second  Church 
was  formed  in  1891,  and  dedicated  its  edifice  in  1893.  The 
Sykes  Church  was  organized  in  1892. 

The  first  Catholic  service  was  held  here,  in  a  private 
house,  in  1829,  and  late  in  1834  the  first  attempt  was  made  to 
form  an  organization.  Land  on  Spring  street,  where  St. 
Mary's  Cathedral  now  stands,  was  purchased,   and  a  small 

83 


wooden  chapel  erected  in  1836,  called  St.  John  the  Baptist. 
The  chapel  was  extended  on  the  south  after  1840,  with  the 
result  that  the  altar  and  six  pews  were  in  Rhode  Island  while 
the  rest  of  the  church  was  in  Massachusetts.  Soon  after  1850 
a  new  church  became  a  necessity,  and  the  work  of  laying  the 
foundation  for  St.  Mary's  was  begun.  The  cornerstone  was 
laid  August  8,  1852,  and  the  walls,  with  the  exception  of  the 
front,  carried  up  to  their  present  height,  while  the  chapel 
within  was  still  in  use.  The  little  building  was  then  cut  in 
two  and  removed  to  the  site  of  the  present  rectory,  where 
services  were  held  till  it  was  burned  in  1856.  From  that  time 
the  congregation  worshipped  in  the  present  church,  which  on 
the  organization  of  the  diocese  of  Fall  River  was  made  the 
cathedral. 

The  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  formed  in 
1827  and  erected  a  small  edifice  on  the  westerly  side  of  what 
is  now  Camden  street  near  Central  street.  It  was  later  used 
as  a  dwelling  and  was  taken  down  in  1910.  A  new  church 
on  the  site  of  the  present  building  on  South  Main  street  was 
constructed  in  1840,  burned  in  1843  and  at  once  rebuilt  and 
dedicated  in  1844. 

The  Church  of  the  Ascension  was  organized  July  15,1836, 
and  met  in  the  Pocasset  house,  which  stood  at  the  corner  of 
South  Main  and  Pleasant  streets  till  1840,  when  it  bought  the 
former  First  Baptist  Church  on  South  Main  street.  This  was 
burned  in  1850.  It  was  at  once  replaced  and  was  occupied 
till  the  church  on  Rock  street,  between  Pine  and  Cherry 
streets  was  built  and  occupied  in  1875  when  the  old  church 
was  devoted  to  business  purposes.  A  large  parish  house  on 
Purchase  street  was  completed  in  May,  1911.  The  church 
has  charge  of  St.  Matthew's  Mission  on  Locust  street. 

The  Central  Congregational  Church  v/as  formed  Nov.  16, 
1842,  by  70  members  of  the  First  Congregational  and  met  in 
dwellings  and  in  the  Pocasset  house  till  1844,  when  it  dedi- 
cated a  wooden  edifice  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Bedford 
and  Rock  streets.  The  present  church  was  begun  in  1874  and 
dedicated  Dec.  13,  1875.  The  chapel  was  erected  in  1891. 
For  many  years  the  church  maintained  a  "city  missionary," 
Rev.  E.  A.  Buck,  who  did  good  work  among  the  needy  and 

84 


established  a  "mission  school"  at  the  corner  of  Pleasant  and 
Sixth  streets.  On  the  retirement  of  Mr.  Buck  this  was 
merged  in  the  mother  church. 

The  United  Presbyterian  church,  dating  from  1846, 
erected  a  small  wooden  church  on  the  east  side  of  Union 
street,  south  of  Columbia  and  purchased  its  present  edifice  on 
Pearl  and  Anawan  streets  in  1851.  This  had  been  erected  by 
members  of  the  Christian  denomination.  It  has  a  mission  on 
Rodman  street. 

The  Baptist  churches  have  been  increased  by  the  addition 
of  the  Third  in  1873  and  the  Trinity  in  1905,  the  first  the  out- 
growth of  a  Sunday  school  and  the  second  of  a  mission. 
Colored  churches  of  this  denomination  have  also  been  estab- 
lished. 

To  the  list  of  Congregational  churches  have  been  added 
the  Fowler,  a  branch  of  the  First,  dating  from  1874,  the  Pil- 
grim, formerly  the  Broadway,  organized  in  1894,  and  the 
French  Congregational,  which  was  formed  in  1888  from  a 
mission  of  the  First. 

From  the  small  beginnings  of  the  Catholic  church  have 
grown  a  score  of  prosperous  parishes.  Of  these,  that  of  the 
Sacred  Heart  was  formed  first,  in  1873,  and  the  church  com- 
pleted ten  years  later.  St.  Patrick's  and  St.  Joseph's  were 
organized  shortly  after,  in  1874.  St.  Patrick's  church  was 
begun  in  1881  and  completed  in  1889,  while  the  cornerstone  of 
St.  Joseph's  was  laid  in  1880  and  the  building  dedicated  in 
1885.  St.  Louis  parish  was  organized  in  1885  and  the  church 
dedicated  in  1890.  SS.  Peter's  and  Paul's  was  formed  in  1882 
and  its  church  dedicated  in  1900.  The  Immaculate  Conception 
parish  was  also  organized  in  1882,  and  its  church  soon  after 
begun  and  completed.     St.  William's  was  organized  in  1905. 

The  oldest  of  the  French  Catholic  churches  is  Ste.  Anne's, 
formed  in  1869.  The  communicants  worshipped  in  a  church 
at  the  corner  of  Hunter  and  Hope  streets  till  the  present 
magnificent  building  on  South  Main  street  was  ready  for  use. 
It  was  dedicated  July  4,  1906. 

The  parish  of  Notre  Dame  de  Lourdes  had  been  estab- 
lished in  July,  1874,  by  a  division  of  the  parish  of  Ste.  Anne. 
Its  services  were  held  in  a  church  on  Bassett  street  till  this 

85 


was  burned  in   November,  1903,  when  the  present  church, 
completed  in  1906,  was  begun. 

Other  CathoHc  churches  here  are  the  Blessed  Sacrament, 
formerly  St.  Dominic's,  whose  edifice  was  recently  completed; 
St.  Mathieu's,  organized  in  1886  and  dedicating  its  church  in 
•1896;  St.  Jean  Baptiste,  St.  Roch's, Santo  Christo,  San  Miguel's, 
Espirito  Santo,  Madonna  de  Rosario,  St.  Stanislaus  and  St. 
Anthony's. 

St.  Paul's  M.  E.  church  was  organized  in  1851  by  123  mem- 
bers of  the  First  Church  and  erected  a  building  on  Bank  street 
in  1852,  which  was  enlarged  in  1864.  The  Bray  ton  M.  E. ,  until 
about  1870  known  as  the  Globe  Street  M.  E.,  was  organized  in 
1854,  the  Quarry  Street  in  1870  and  the  North  M.  E.  in  1859.  The 
Summerfield  M.  E.  Church  was  organized  in  1875.  It  erected 
a  building  on  Terry  street  and  took  the  name  of  the  Terry 
Street  M.  E.  Church.  In  1878  the  edifice  was  removed  to  its 
present  location  on  North  Main  and  Hood  streets.  Five  years 
later  the  church  was  raised  and  the  name  changed  to  the 
Park  M.  E.  Church.  The  present  title  was  assumed  in  1890. 
There  is  also  a  colored  church,  the  African  Methodist  Episco- 
pal and  an  Italian  Mission  on  Plain  street,  organized  in  1905. 

Nearly  all  the  Episcopal  churches  were  started  by  the 
Church  of  the  Ascension.  St.  John's  became  independent  in 
1881,  and  erected  a  wooden  church  on  South  Main  street, 
followed  by  the  present  stone  church,  in  which  services  were 
first  held  on  Easter  Day,  1890.  St.  James  was  organized  in 
1883,  and  occupied  its  present  church  in  March,  1885,  St. 
Mark's  erected  a  church  on  Mason  street  in  1888  and  became 
independent  in  1894.  St.  Luke's  became  a  separate  parish  in 
1896,  and  the  present  church  was  built  soon  after.  St. 
Stephen's,  formed  from  a  mission  of  St.  John's,  was  organized 
in  1896,  and  has  just  completed  its  church. 

In  addition  to  the  First  Christian  Church,  the  city  has 
two  others  of  this  denomination — the  North,  dating  from 
1842  and  the  Bogle  Street,  formed  in  1876.  The  latter's 
edifice  was  built  in  1885.  There  is  also  a  chapel  on  New 
Boston  Road,  called  New  Boston  Chapel. 

Other  churches  here  are  the  Globe  or  First  Presbyterian, 
organized  in  1890;  the  Reorganized  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of 

86 


Latter  Day  Saints,  organized  in  1863,  whose  church  was  built 
in  1876,  burned  in  1893,  and  rebuilt;  the  Church  of  the  New 
Jerusalem,  organized  in  1854,  whose  edifice  dates  from  1869; 
the  Advent  Christian,  organized  in  1887,  which  erected  a 
chapel  the  following  year;  the  Church  of  Christ,  Scientist, 
dating  from  1892;  the  First  Spiritualist  Church  and  Lyceum; 
St.  Paul's  Lutheran  Church,  a  Russian  Orthodox  Church,  and 
the  First  Polish  Church  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  the  last-named 
a  Polish  National  Catholic  church.  There  are  also  four 
Jewish  congregations— the  Sons  of  Jacob,  the  Union  Street 
Synagogue,  the  Congregation  Adas  Israel,  and  Aharat  Achim. 

The  present  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  dates 
from  1888  (though  there  had  been  an  association  here  as 
early  as  1857)  and  was  housed  from  1888  to  1895  in  the  Slade 
house,  at  the  corner  of  North  Main  and  Elm  streets.  It  then 
removed  to  a  house  on  the  northeast  corner  of  North  Main  and 
Pine  streets  on  which  site  stands  the  large  brick  building  which 
was  dedicated  April,  1903. 

There  are  two  temperance  societies  in  Fall  River,  the 
Young  Men's  Irish  American  Catholic  Total  Abstinence  and 
Benevolent  Society  and  the  Young  Men's  Protestant  Temper- 
ance and  Benevolent  Society,  both  of  which  occupy  substan- 
tial brick  buildings  of  their  own. 

The  work  of  the  Women's  Union  began  in  1873  in  the 
Troy  building.    The  present  structure  was  completed  in  1909. 

The  Boys'  Club  was  organized  in  1890  and  had  its  first 
quarters  on  Troy  street.  The  Anawan  street  building  was 
erected  and  donated  to  the  club  by  M.  C.  D.  Borden  in  1898, 
and  the  Pocasset  street  annex  in  1908. 

The  Children's  Home,  organized  in  1873,  first  occupied  a 
building  at  the  northwest  corner  of  North  Main  street  and 
President  avenue,  erected  a  frame  building,  followed  by  the 
present  brick  structure,  at  the  corner  of  Walnut  and  Robeson 
streets,  dedicated  in  1895. 

St.  Vincent's  Orphanage,  founded  in  1885,  occupied  a 
wooden  building  till  its  present  brick  home  was  completed  in 
1894. 

St.  Joseph's  Orphanage,  another  large  institution,  is 
cared  for  by  Notre  Dame  parish. 

87. 


The  Home  for  Aged  People,  organized  in  1891,  occupied 
the  Leland  House  on  High  street  in  its  early  years.  It 
dedicated  its  Highland  avenue  building  in  March,  1898, 

Ste.  Anne's  Hospital,  erected  by  the  Dominican  Sisters  of 
Charity,  of  Tours,  France,  was  dedicated  February  4,  1906. 

The  Union  Hospital,  whose  new  building  was  opened  in 
October,  1908,  was  formed  by  the  merger  in  1900  of  the  Fall 
River  Hospital,  founded  in  1885  and  situated  on  Prospect 
street,  and  the  Emergency,  established  in  1895  in  a  building 
where  the  structure  of  the  Women's  Union  now  stands. 

Two  day  nurseries,  both  established  in  1910,  care  for 
infants  while  their  mothers  are  at  work.  They  are  the  Bishop 
Stang  Day  Nursery,  in  a  building  erected  for  its  use  on  Third 
street,  and  the  Ninth  Street  Day  Nursery,  started  by  The 
College  Club,  an  organization  of  ladies.  There  is  also  an 
institution  called  the  Seaside  Home,  situated  on  the  shore  of 
the  bay,  which  cares  for  babies  during  the  summer. 

The  Salvation  Army  work  began  in  1883.  The  head- 
quarters were  in  Court  Square  for  11  years,  and  then  in 
several  locations  till  the  Bedford  street  citadel  was  erected 
in  1903. 

FIRE  DEPARTMENT 

The  early  fire  department  was  entirely  a  volunteer  one. 
The  first  engine,  bought  by  the  town  in  1818,  was  a  "bucket" 
engine,  which  drew  water  from  a  tub  of  the  machine,  filled  by 
a  line  of  men  who  passed  buckets  from  one  to  another.  A 
carriage,  with  a  large  number  of  buckets,  attended  it,  but 
many  of  the  citizens  had  their  own  fire  buckets,  generally  of 
leather  on  which  the  name  of  the  owner  was  painted  and 
which  they  took  with  them  when  responding  to  an  alarm.  This 
engine  was  first  stationed  on  the  south  side  of  Central  street, 
near  Inch,  subsequently  in  the  rear  of  city  hall,  and  later  still 
in  the  old  town  house  on  Central  street.  It  was  altered  to  a 
draught  engine  after  the  fire  of  1843  and  remained  in  service 
until  1853,  when  it  was  succeeded  by  Mazeppa  No.  7. 

Another  engine  was  purchased  by  private  subscription  in 
1826.     This  also  drew  water  from  a  tub,  which  was  forced, 


without  hose,  through  a  goose-neck  nozzle.  It  was  stationed 
near  Bedford  and  Main  streets  and  is  said  to  have  been  drawn 
to  fires  by  oxen. 

The  second  engine  bought  by  the  town  was  HydrauHon 
No.  2,  first  kept  in  Stone  lane,  off  Central  street,  and  later  in  the 
Niagara  house  on  Pleasant  street.  It  was  a  draught  engine, 
having  two  decks  and  two  sets  of  brakes,  one  worked  by  men 
standing  on  the  ground  and  the  other  by  men  on  a  platform. 
It  was  never  very  popular  with  the  citizens.  Cataract  No.  3, 
purchased  in  1843,  was  housed  at  the  corner  of  Franklin  and 
Rock  streets,  while  Niagara  No,  4,  of  the  same  period,  was 
stationed  in  the  Niagara  house  on  Pleasant  street  until  1853, 
and  was  later  sent  to  North  Main  and  Turner  streets,  with  the 
new  name  of  Torrent  No.  2,  and  a  new  Niagara  was  purchased 
which  remained  in  active  service  until  1865,  and  was  used  by 
a  volunteer  force  at  the  Print  Works  fire  in  1867.  Ocean  No. 
5,  bought  in  1846,  was  kept  on  Pearl  street,  Mazeppa  No.  7, 
formerly  the  property  of  the  Massasoit  Mfg.  Co. ,  was  kept 
successively  in  the  town  house,  the  armory,  Court  square  and 
at  the  corner  of  South  Main  street  and  Broadway.  Other 
early  engines  were  the  Atlantic  No.  6,  owned  by  Hawes, 
Marvel  &  Davol,  and  kept  at  their  machine  shop,  the  Metro- 
polis No.  7  and  the  Franklin.  The  last  hand  fire  engine  was 
the  Cascade,  which  had  belonged  to  the  town  of  Fall  River, 
R.  I, ,  and  was  kept  on  the  west  side  of  South  Main  street 
south  of  Columbia  street  and  afterward  at  the  Globe  Print 
Works,  and  maintained  by  that  company.  In  the  early  fifties 
an  engine  house  having  been  built  on  present  site  of  the 
Cascade  house,  the  engine  was  placed  there. 

In  addition  to  the  regular  fire  companies  there  were 
several  organizations  known  as  Forcing  Pump  Companies, 
formed  by  the  various  manufacturing  establishments.  They 
were  equipped  with  hand  hose  reels  and  attended  all  fires 
which  their  hose,  when  attached  to  the  pumps  at  their 
factories,  would  reach.  While  they  were  not  considered  a 
part  of  the  regular  department,  their  election  as  firemen 
was  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  fire  wards,  and  they 
received  a  slight  compensation  from  the  town.  They  were 
also  subject  to  fines  for  non-attendance.     In  1832  there  were 

89 


four  of  these  companies,  one  at  the  Fall  River  Manufactory, 
one  at  Robeson's  Print  Works,  one  at  the  Pocasset  mill  and 
one  at  the  Troy  mill ;  one  was  later  maintained  by  the  Anna- 
wan  Mfg.  Co. 

Nearly  all  the  regular  companies  disbanded  as  fire  com- 
panies in  1857,  following  the  action  of  the  city  government 
in  limiting  the  aggregate  to  be  paid  each  company  for  com- 
pensation. They  continued  as  social  organizations.  The 
Ocean  and  the  Cataract  Companies  had  bands  of  considerable 
note.  The  most  prominent  citizens  of  the  town  belonged  to 
the  fire  companies  during  their  days  of  active  service. 

The  early  companies  sometimes  made  excursions  to  the 
neighboring  cities,  Newport,  New  Bedford  and  Providence. 
More  notable  than  any  of  these,  however,  was  the  visit  to 
New  York  on  the  steamer  Bay  State,  made  by  the  Cataract 
Company  of  1847. 

In  the  early  days  an  alarm  of  fire  was  given  by  shouting 
and  the  ringing  of  bells,  and  methods  were  not  much 
improved  in  1854,  when  an  ordinance  adopted  in  that  year, 
provided  that  immediately  on  an  alarm  of  fire  during  the 
night,  it  should  be  the  duty  of  the  watchmen  to  give  notice 
thereof  by  springing  rattles,  crying  fire  or  ringing  a  bell,  and 
mentioning  the  street  or  direction  where  the  fire  was.  No 
bell  was  to  be  rung  for  a  chimney  fire,  either  by  day  or  night. 

For  many  years  the  bell  on  the  Court  House,  on  Court 
square  was  rung  as  a  fire  alarm.  It  was  also  rung  at  7  a.  m., 
12  m.,  1,  6  and  9  P.M.,  for  the  benefit  of  the  people,  the  9 
p.  M.,  bell  served  as  a  curfew,  and  this  continued  until  1874. 

After  1832  until  about  1868,  officers  of  the  department 
carried  speaking  trumpets  as  the  insignia  of  office. 

The  Fall  River  Iron  Works  Co.  early  laid  a  pipe  from  the 
Watuppa  dam  to  the  Iron  Works  property  at  the  foot  of  the 
hill,  with  several  hydrants  for  fire  purposes. 

The  first  hose  reel  was  secured  in  1843  and  stationed  on 
Rock  street.  A  four-wheeled  hose  reel  was  bought  in  1851, 
and  stationed  at  the  Cataract  House,  and  the  first  horse  hose 
reel  in  1863,  kept  in  the  Court  Square  building. 

Like  the  other  apparatus,  the  early  hook  and  ladder 
trucks  were  small.     The  first  was  bought  in  1826,   kept  on 

90 


Pleasant  street,  and  drawn  by  hand.  One  purchased  as  late 
as  1871,  was  first  drawn  by  hand  and  then  changed  to  be  used 
with  a  horse.  The  present  No.  1,  purchased  in  1885,  was  the 
first  in  the  state  to  be  equipped  for  three  horses  abreast. 

The  first  steamer,  Quequechan  No.  1,  was  bought  in  1859, 
and  replaced  in  1871  and  again  in  1891.  It  was  kept  in  the 
Court  square  building  till  the  completion  of  the  Prospect 
street  house  in  1874.  The  King  Phliip,  No.  2,  was  purchased 
in  1860,  and  also  stationed  at  same  place  till  it  was  removed 
to  the  Central  engine  house  in  1871.  Other  early  steam  fire 
engines  were  the  Metacomet,  No.  3  ;  the  Niagara,  No.  4 ; 
the  Massasoit,  No.  5  ;  the  Anawan,  No.  6;  and  the  Pocasset, 
No.  7,  all  bought  before  1875. 

Of  the  early  engine  houses,  the  Niagara,  formerly  known 
as  Firemen's  hall,  was  the  stone  building  still  standing  on  the 
south  side  of  Pleasant  street,  between  Second  and  Third,  built 
in  1838  and  sold  in  1877.  "  The  Cataract,  now  occupied  by  the 
Fall  River  Veteran  Firemen's  Association,  is  at  the  corner  of 
Rock  and  Franklin  streets  and  was  built  in  1843.  The  Ocean 
house  still  standing  on  Pearl  street,  now  occupied  by  the  Defi- 
ance Veteran  Firemen's  Association,  was  built  in  1845.  The 
Court  Square  House,  now  occupied  by  the  police,  was  formerly 
a  livery  stable  and  was  purchased  in  1857.  The  Central  engine 
house  was  built  in  1870  and  enlarged  in  1896,  and  the  houses 
of  the  Anawan  on  North  Main  street,  the  Pocasset  on  Pleasant 
and  the  Massasoit  on  Freedom  were  erected  in  1874,  the 
Quequechan  on  Prospect  street  in  1875,  and  the  present 
Niagara,  on  Plymouth  avenue,  in  1878.  The  Cascade  house 
on  South  Main  street  replaced,  in  1898,  a  structure  put  up  by 
the  town  of  Tiverton  in  the  50s. 

The  more  recent  fire  department  buildings  and  apparatus 
are :  the  Bogle  Hill  station  on  Pleasant  street,  erected  in 
1899,  and  occupied  by  Engine  No.  9  ;  a  building  corner  South 
Main  and  Howe  streets,  erected  in  1899,  and  occupied  by 
combined  hose  and  chemical  apparatus  No.  10 ;  the  High- 
land station,  erected  in  1909,  used  by  a  combination  ladder 
and  chemical  truck. 

The  first  Cascade  auto  equipment  was  installed  Septem- 
ber, 1909,  and  an  auto  combination  hose  was  added  in  the 
same  building  in  April,  1911. 

91 


The  building  at  Maplewood  was  erected  in  1910  and  Hose 
No.  11  installed  in  it  February,  1911. 

Before  1829  the  firemen  were  in  charge  of  ten  wardens 
elected  annually.  In  that  year  the'  number  was  increased  to 
20,  and  in  1832  a  fire  department  was  formally  established. 
After  that  time,  members  of  companies  received  a  small  yearly 
compensation.  The  first  permanent  man  was  appointed  in 
in  1860,  as  driver  of  Steamer  No.  1,  in  Court  Square.  It  was 
his  duty,  on  an  alarm,  to  take  two  horses  belonging  to  the 
street  department,  and  drive  to  the  fire.  Two  additional 
drivers  were  appointed  in  1865,  and  took  turns  at  highway 
work  with  their  teams.  In  1873,  the  three  men  and  their 
horses  were  placed  permanently  on  duty  at  the  engine  houses. 
The  next  year,  permanent  engineers  were  appointed,  and  in 
1886  a  captain  and  hoseman  for  each  engine.  In  1894  the 
captains  of  all  fire  companies  were  made  permanent,  and  since 
then  the  department  has  rapidly  been  brought  to  its  present 
efficiency.     It  now  has  126  permanent  and  29  call  men. 

The  fire  alarm  telegraph  system  was  installed  in  1870, 
and  the  first  alarm  given  from  box  16  on  Jan.  27.  The  first 
chemical  engine  was  bought  in  1872  and  the  first  extension 
truck  of  the  aerial  type  in  1875,  and  first  piece  of  automobile 
fire  apparatus  was  bought  in  1909. 

The  department  came  under  the  control  of  the  fire  com- 
mission when  the  city  charter  went  into  effect  in  1903. 

The  dates  of  some  of  the  more  notable  fires  are:  "The 
Great  Fire",  July  2,  1843;  the  Empire  State,  Jan.  13,  1849; 
the  Micah  Ruggles  house,  Jan.  24,  1857;  Globe  Print  Works, 
Dec.  5,  1867;  American  Print  Works,  Dec.  15,  1867;  Massasoit 
Steam  Mill,  Nov.  2,  1875 ;  Granite  Mills,  Sept.  19,  1874 ; 
American  Linen,  June  29,  1876;  Border  City  No.  1,  Nov.  17, 
1877;  Chace's  thread  mill,  Nov.  29,  1878;  Flint  Mill,  Oct.  28, 
1882 ;  Sagamore,  April  24,  1884  ;  Langley's  loom  harness 
factory,  (following  a  boiler  explosion  which  killed  four  per- 
sons) June  14,  1895. 


92 


POLICE  DEPARTMENT 

The  police  department  was  established  in  1844,  when  a 
nig-ht  watch  of  six  men  was  authorized.  On  the  adoption  of 
a  city  charter,  a  chief  constable  was  appointed  at  $1.50  a  day, 
with  seven  day  assistants  and  eight  nig-ht  men.  The  title  was 
changed  to  city  marshal  in  1857.  By  1872  the  force  had  been 
increased  to  28  men,  22  of  whom  were  on  night  duty.  More 
men  were  added  in  1873  and  1874,  increasing  the  number  to 
70.  On  the  opening  of  the  northern,  southern,  and  eastern 
stations,  in  1874,  the  city  was  divided  into  four  districts,  and 
the  hours  of  duty  so  arranged  as  not  to  leave  the  city  un- 
guarded for  three  hours  during  the  day,  as  had  formerly 
been  the  practice.  The  patrol  wagon  system  went  into  effect 
in  1890,  and  late  in  1910,  the  horse-drawn  wagon  was  replaced 
by  an  automobile.  The  department  was  placed  under  a  com- 
mission in  1894,  and  now  numbers  154  men. 

The  early  headquarters  were  in  the  Central  street  town 
house,  later  in  the  basement  of  city  hall,  and  since  1857  in  the 
present  building  on  Court  Square,  now  Purchase  street, 
though  this  was  shared  with  the  fire  and  highway  depart- 
ments till  the  former  was  withdrawn  in  1875  and  the  latter 
in  1879.  The  structure  was  then  remodelled  with  rooms  on 
the  second  floor  for  the  district  court,  which  continued  to  be 
used  till  January,  1911.  The  police  department  was  then 
given  the  use  of  the  entire  building. 


93 


Bowenville  extended  from  Cedar  street  to  President 
avenue,  west  of  North  Main  street.  The  Raih-oad  Station 
formerly  standing  at  the  foot  of  Old  Colony  Avenue  v^as 
called  Bowenville. 

Farmville  extended  from  President  avenue  to  George 
street,  west  of  North  Main  street,  north  of  this  was  "Slade's 
Ferry".  After  the  construction  of  the  Mechanics  Mills 
in  1868,  the  name  Farmville  by  common  consent  became 
Mechanicsville. 

Steep  Brook  included  the  section  from  present  Baldwin 
street  northerly  to  Miller's  Cove,  from  the  shore  as  far  castas 
the  present  Highland  avenue. 

Globe  Village  (in  Tiverton)  was  the  section  having  its 
center  near  the  junction  of  present  South  Main  street  and 
Globe  street. 

Mt.  Hope  Village  was  the  section  near  the  Mt.  Hope 
(now  Conanicut)  Mill. 

Harrison ville  adjoined  Pleasant  street  near  the  loca- 
tion of  Fourteenth  street. 

New  Boston  included  the  section  on  both  sides  of  what 
are  now  New  Boston  road,  Willow,  Ruth,  and  Meridian  streets 
as  well  as  that  portion  of  Wilson  road  east  of  Highland  avenue 
as  far  as  the  pond. 

Oak  Grove  Village  comprises  a  section  on  both  sides  of 
Oak  Grove  Avenue  from  London  street  north  to  Oak  Grove 
Cemetery,  extending  east  to  Freelove  street. 

Bigberry,  the  point  of  land  jutting  into  the  Quequechan 
river  near  present  Sixteenth  street. 

"Mosquito  Island"  the  location  of  the  Wamsutta  Steam 
Mills,  now  Massasoit  Manufacturing  Company,  south  of 
Pleasant  street. 

Rattlesnake  Hill,  section  near  the  present  location  of 
Watuppa  Freight  Station. 

Newville,  section  near  Sucker  Brook  and  Stafford  road, 
now  included  in  "Maplewood". 

"Happy  Hollow"  was  the  ravine  extending  from  Bay 
street  to  Mt.  Hope  Bay  near  present  Birch  street.  This  was 
a  favorite  resort  for  Sunday  school  picnics. 

94 


Adirondac  Grove  was  on  the  easterly  shore  of  North 
Watuppa  pond  near  the  present  Fall  River- Westport  line. 
Excursions  by  steamer  from  a  landing  near  the  present  Troy 
building  were  popular  until  1872  when  the  construction  of 
bridges  across  Quequechan  river  made  the  passage  impractic- 
able. 

''Scotch  Hole"  a  section  near  the  present  junction  of 
Quequechan,  Jefferson  and  Warren  streets. 

Flint  Village  included  the  section  from  County  street 
(formerly  Old  Bedford  road)  southerly  to  Quequechan  river 
and  from  Quequechan  street  easterly  to  Eastern  avenue. 

Town  pump  stood  at  southeast  corner  of  city  hall  and 
was  used  until  introduction  of  city  water. 

Indian  Town,  is  the  section  east  of  North  Watuppa  pond 
extending  from  the  Westport  line  northerly  about  one  mile, 
deriving  its  name  from  an  Indian  settlement,  which  was  on 
the  Indian  reservation  at  this  location. 

The  Narrows — "  This  strait  divides  the  pond  into  North 
Watuppa  and  South  Watuppa. ' '  At  one  time  '  'this  strait  was 
passed  on  a  foot-bridge  of  stepping  stones." — Fowler's 
History.  It  is  now  crossed  by  the  roadway  to  Westport  and 
New  Bedford. 


95 


FALL  RIVER 

Founded,  1803. 

Incorporated  a  city,  1854. 

Area,  including  land  and  water,  about  41  square  miles. 

Length  of  city,  about  11  miles,  width  7^  miles. 

Assessed  polls,  April,  1910,  31,815. 

Registered  voters,  1910,  males,  16,414,  females,  2,380. 

Dwellings,  10,005. 

Tax,  1910,  inclusive  of  polls,  $1,793,183.73. 

Rate  of  taxation,  1910,  per  $1,000,  $18.70. 

Public  School  Buildings,  52. 

Pupils  enrolled  in  Public  Schools,  14,267. 

Public  Library,  number  of  volumes,  83,951. 

Post  Office,  receipts  in  1825,  $226;   in  1910,  $147,519. 

Miles  of  Accepted  Streets,  1911,  144.84. 

Miles  of  Paved  Streets,  1911,  16.47. 

Miles  of  Sewers,  1911,  72.93. 

Miles  of  Water  Pipe,  1911,  112.585. 

Fire  Hydrants,  1911,  1,327. 

Electric  Arc  Lights,  1911,  846. 

Gas  Lights,  1911,  447. 

Kerosene  Lights,  1911,  208. 


Date 

Population 

Valuation 

Spindles 

1810 

1,296 

1820 

1,594 

1830 

4,159 

1840 

6,738 

$  2,978,597 

32,084 

1850 

11,170 

7,433,050 

1860 

13,240 

11,522,650 

1862 

192,620 

1870 

27,191 

23,612,214 

544,606 

1880 

47,883 

39,171,264 

1,390,830 

1890 

74,918 

53,395,908 

2,164,664 

1900 

104,863 

73,511,614 

3,042,472 

1910 

119,295 

92,488,520 

3,943,036 

96 


COTTON  MANUFACTURING 


Incorporated 

Capital 

Spindles 

American  Linen  Co. 

1852 

$800,000 

94,528 

Ancona  Company 

1903 

300,000 

40,080 

Arkwright  Mills 

1897 

450,000 

68,432 

Barnaby  Mfg.  Co. 

1882 

350,000 

25,424 

Barnard  Mfg.  Co. 

1874 

500,000 

80,304 

Border  City  Mfg.  Co. 

1880 

1,000,000 

121,228 

Bourne  Mills 

1881 

1,000,000 

91,258 

Chace  Mills 

1871 

1,200,000 

116,688 

Charlton  Mills 

1910 

800,000 

52,000 

Conanicut  Mills 

1880 

300,000 

29,412 

Cornell  Mills 

1889 

400,000 

45,040 

Davis  Mills 

1903 

1,250,000 

127,504 

Davol  Mills 

1867 

500,000 

44,672 

Durfee  Mills 

1866 

500,000 

143,952 

Estes  Mills 

1905 

300,000 

7,000 

Fall  River  Iron  Works  Co. 

1825 

2,000,000 

488,000 

Flint  Mills 

1872 

1,160,000 

107,000 

Globe  Yarn  Mills 

A 

73,408 

Granite  Mills 

1863 

1,000,000 

122,048 

Hargraves  Mills 

1888 

800,000 

111,690 

Kerr  Thread  Co. 

B 

105,732 

King  Philip  Mills 

1871 

1,500,000 

135,232 

Laurel  Lake  Mills 

1881 

600,000 

59,808 

Lincoln  Mfg.  Co. 

1906 

700,000 

62,800 

Luther  Mfg.  Co. 

1903 

350,000 

51,616 

Massasoit  Mfg.  Co. 

1882 

500,000 

Mechanics  Mills 

1868 

750,000 

60,512 

Merchants  Mfg.  Co. 

1867 

1,200,000 

134,336 

Narragansett  Mills 

1871 

400,000 

43,744 

Osborn  Mills 

1871 

750,000 

70,332 

Parker  Mills 

1895 

800,000 

111,684 

Pilgrim  Mills 

1910 

1,050,000 

50,000 

Pocasset  Mfg.  Co. 

1822 

1,200,000 

120,016 

Richard  Borden  Mfg.  Co. 

1871 

1,000,000 

101,024 

Sagamore  Mfg.  Co. 

1879 

1,200,000 

141,728 

Sanford  Spinning  Co. 

A 

57,496 

97 


Seaconnet  Mills 

1884 

600,000 

68,384 

Shove  Mills 

1872 

550,000 

77,728 

Stafford  Mills 

1871 

1,000,000 

114,584 

Stevens  Mfg.  Co. 

1892 

700,000 

16,764 

Tecumseh  Mills 

1866 

750,000 

78,960 

Troy  Cotton  and  Woolen 

Manufactory 

1814 

300,000 

50,304 

Union  Cotton  Mfg.  Co. 

1879 

1,200,000 

110,320 

Wampanoag  Mills 

1871 

750,000 

84,760 

Weetamoe  Mills 

1871 

500,000 

45,504 

$32,960,000 

3,943,036 

A    Owned  by  the  New  England  Cotton  Yarn  Co. 

B    Owned  by  the  American  Thread  Co. 

C    Equivalent  to  63,000  print  cloth  spindles. 


Algonquin  Printing  Co. 
American  Printing  Co. 
Ashworth  Brothers,  Inc. 
Fall  River  Electric  Light  Co. 
Fall  River  Gas  Works  Co. 
Heywood  Narrow  Fabric  Co. 
Kilburn,  Lincoln  &  Co. 
Old  Colony  Breweries  Co. 
Standard  Fabric  Co. 
Union  Belt  Co. 


ncorporated 

Capital 

1891 

$500,000 

1880 

750,000 

1910 

400,000 

1883 

800,000 

1880 

690,000 

1900 

40,000 

1854 

80,000 

1896 

1,500,000 

1910 

150,000 

1871 

72,000 

98 


INDEX 


Abbott,  JohnH 42 

Abolition  of  Grade  Crossings     43,  44 

Academy  of  Music 34 

Advent  Christian  Church 87 

Albatross,  steamer 66 

Aldermen,  first  Boai'd  of 26 

Algonquin  Printing  Co 40,  61 

American  Linen  Co 23,  60 

American  Ptg.  Co.  .  .19,61,62,64,71-76 

Anawan  street 19 

Anawan  School 22,  23,  78 

Annawan 6 

Annawan  Mill 18,  59,  63 

Anthony,  David 57 

Area  of  City 1 

Arkwright  Mills 40 

Armory 42 

Articles  of  Confederation  approved  14 

Athenaeum 21,  27 

Banks 5,  74  to  77 

Baptist  Church  at  Narrows 17 

Baptist  Temple 19,  82 

Barnaby  Mfg.  Co 38 

Barnard  Mfg.  Co 32,  40 

Battery  M 42 

Battle  of  Fall  River 14,  15 

Bay  State  Print  Works 55,  61,  62 

Bay  State  Steamboat  Co 24,  34,  63 

Bay  State,  steamer 24,  35 

Belting  introduced 59 

Blaisdell,  J.  C 26 

Blessed  Sacrament  Church 86 

Block  Printing 19 

Block  Shop 21 

Board  of  Health 37 

Bogle  Street  Church 86 

Borden  Block 34 

Borden,  Capt.  Thomas 24 

Borden,  Holder 59,  61 

Borden,  M.  C.  D 61,  63,  87 

Borden,  N.  B 26 

Border  City  Mills .32,  38 

Boys' Club 87 


Brayton  M.  E.  Church 86 

Broadway  Chapel 82 

Brownell  Street  Chapel 82 

Boundary  line 11,  29 

Bourne  Mills 38 

Bradford  Durfee,  steamer 24 

Braley,  H.  K 39 

Bridge  Mill 22,  58 

Brightman  Street  Bridge 51 

Bristol,  steamer 35 

British  Attack 14,  15 

Brown,  S.  M 31 

Brownell  Street  School 39 

Bucket  Engine 19,  88 

Buffinton,  L  &  Son 59 

BufRnton,  James 26 

Cabot,  Sebastian 6 

Canonicus 6 

Canonicus,  steamer 24,  66 

Caroline,  schooner 67 

Catholic  Churches 83  to  86 

Central  Congregat'l  Church.  .  .34,  84 

Chace  Mills 32,  40 

Chace,  Oliver 18,  54,  57 

Chace's  Thread  Mill 18 

Charlton  Mills 40 

Cherry  street ....    19 

Children's  Home 87 

Cholera  outbreak 26 

Church,  Benj.  and  Caleb 12 

Church  of  the  Ascension. .  .19,  34,  84 

Churches  and  Charities 81,  88 

Church  of  the  New  Jerusalem.  . .  .87 

Citizens'  Savings  Bank 23,  48,  76 

City  Charter 25,  26,  27,  44,  45 

City  Dispensary 41 

City  Election,  first 26 

City  Engineer 39 

City  Hall 33,  39 

City  Stables 37,  39 

Civil  War 28,  29 

Cleft  Rock 11,  20 

Cloth  produced 3 


99 


Clyde  Line 36 

Columbia  Street  School 23,  80 

Company  stores 61 

Conanicut  Mill 18 

Congregationalists 13 

Corbitant 6 

Cote  Piano  Mfg.  Co 67 

Cotton  used 3 

Coughlin,  John  T 49,  50 

Coughlin,  John  W -  .40 

Coughlin  School 42 

Covel  Street  School 39 

Crab  pond 70,71 

Creek,  the 20 

Crescent  Mills 32 

Cummings,  John  W 39 

Custom  House 17,  36 

Dart,  schooner 67 

Davenport,  James  F 33 

Davenport  School 32 

Davis  Mills 40 

Davis,  Robert  T 32 

Davis  School 32 

Davol  Mills 28 

Davol  School 41 

Davol,  William  C 56 

Day  Nurseries 88 

Diocese  of  Fall  River 48 

District  Court  House 51 

Division  of  Town 15 

Durfee,  Col.  Joseph  14. 15, 17, 52  to  55,62 

Durfee  Mills 28,  38 

Dyer  Transportation  Co 36,  67 

Earliest  Settlers 10 

Eight  Rod  way ..11 

Electric  cars 41 

Electric  drive  ...    73,  74 

Electric  lights  37,  39 

Empire  State,  steamer 24,  25  35 

Engines,  steam 72  to  74 

English  machinery 55,  56 

Estes  Mills 62,63 

Eudora,  steamer 24 

Evening  School 23 

Exchange  Hotel 51 

Exchange  street 20 

nixplorers 6 


Factory  School 80 

Fairbanks,  George  0 31 

Faith,  steamer 34 

F.  R.  &  P.  Steamboat  Co. . .  36,63,65,66 

Fall  River  Bank 18,  38,  75 

Fall  River,  Battle  of  .  . ' 14 

Fall  River  Bleachery 32,  62 

Fall  River  Co-operative  Bank. 38,  77 

Fall  River,  Diocese  of 48 

Fall  River  Five  Cents  Savings  Bank 

31,48,  75,  76,  77 

Fall  River  Gas  Works  Co 63 

Fall  River  Iron  \  18,  23,  38,  40,  59,  61, 
Works  Co.      I  63  to  66,  70,  71 

Fall  River  Line 24,  34,  35,  63,  66 

Fall  River  Machine  Co   63,  68 

Fall  River  Railroad 25 

Fall  River,  R.  I. ,  annexed 30 

Fall  River  Manufactory 

18,56,  57,  58,  63 

Fall  River  Savings  Bank 18,  75 

Fall  River  Union  Bank 18,  75 

Feehan,  Bishop 48 

Fire  alarm 90,  92 

Fire  department 

18,  27,  28,  32,  50,  88-92 

Fire  of  1843 21,  22 

Fires,  dates  of 92 

First  Baptist  Church 31,  82 

First  Christian  Church ....  19,  22,  83 
First  Congregat'l  Church..  19,  82,  83 

First  M.  E.  Church 84 

First  National  Bank 38,  76 

First  Railroad 25 

First  settlers 10 

First  town  house 17 

Fiske,  "Jim" 35 

Flint  Mills 32,  40 

Flint  Village 32 

Flour  Mills. 28 

Forcing  pump  companies 89 

Foster  Hooper  School 23,  50,  80 

Four  Corners 20 

Fowler  Congregational  Church ....  85 

Free  delivery  of  mail 31 

Freemen's  purchase 9 

Free  text  books 32,  81 


100 


French  Canadians 30 

French  Congregational  Church. . .  .85 
Friends,  denomination  of..  13,  19,  83 

Fulling  Mill 12,  17,  58 

Gas  introduced 24 

Goose-nesting  Rock 3 

Globe  Cotton  Mill 52  to  55 

Globe,  Daily 5,  40 

Globe  Presbyterian  Church 86 

Globe  Print  Works 23,  61,  62 

Globe  Village  32 

Globe  Yarn  Mills 38,  40,  62,  63 

Grade  crossings 43,  44 

Granite  Block 22,58 

Granite  Mills 28,  40 

Granite  Mills  fire 37 

Granolithic  sidewalks 48 

Great  fire 21,  22 

Great  lots 11 

"Great  Vacation" 36 

Greene,  William  S 39,  41 

Green  schoolhouse 23 

Grime,  George 44,  45 

Grist  Mills 12,  17,  20,  58 

Gunn  House 51 

Hancock,  steamer 24 

Hargraves  Mills 38,  40 

Harrison  Street  Chapel 82 

Hat  Factory 38,  67 

Hawes,  Marvel  &  Davol 68 

Hearse  House 18 

Herald,  Daily 5 

Higgins,  Thomas  F 50 

Highest  elevations 1 

Highland  road 31 

High  School 23,  38,  50,  80 

High  Street  School 23,  80 

Home  for  Aged  People 88 

Home  Guard  in  Revolution 14 

Horseboat 34 

Hours  of  labor,  early 59 

Hospitals 24,  34,  40,41,50,88 

Hugo  A.  Dubuque  School 50 

Immaculate  Conception  Church ...  .85 

Incorporation  of  city 25 

Incorporation  of  town 15,  16 

Indian  Reservation 13 


Indians 6  to  10 

Irene  &  Betsey,  the 66 

Irregularities  of  1878-79 36,37 

Jackson,  Amos  M 42 

Jail,  new 43 

Jennie  Lind,  steamer 66 

June  Street  School 23,  50,  80 

Kerr  Thread  Mills 38,  62 

Kilburn,  Lincoln  &  Co 63 

King  Philip 6 

King  Philip  Mills 28,  32,  40 

King  Philip,  steamer 24,  65 

Lafayette  Co-operative  Bank 77 

Laurel  Lake  Mills 38,  40,  55,  58 

Lexington  alarm,  response  to 14 

Lincoln  Mfg.  Co 40 

Lincoln  School 23,  50 

L'Independant 5 

Lindsey,  Crawford  E 37 

Line  Meeting  House 17 

Maple  Street  School 80 

Marshall,  James  &  Bros 67 

Marvel  &  Davol 68 

Massachusetts,  steamer 24 

Massasoit 6 

Massasoit  Bank 23,  38,  48,  75 

Massasoit  Mfg.  Co 59,  62,  63 

Massasoit  Mill 18,  59 

Massasoit-Pocasset  Bank  ..48,  75,  76 

Massasoit  Steam  Mill 23,  59,  72 

Mechanics  Mills 28 

Merchants  Mfg.  Co 28 

Metacomet 6 

Metacomet  Bank 23,  38.  48,  76 

Metacomet  Mill 23,  60,  63,  64 

Metacomet,  steamer 24 

Methodist  Churches 19,  22,  84,  86 

Metropolis,  steamer 25,  35 

Mill  right 11,  12 

Monitor,  newspaper 18 

Montaup 7 

Montaup  Mills 32 

Morgan  Street  School 31,  80 

Motto  of  city 25 

Mount  Hope  Avenue  School 39 

Mount  Hope,  steamer 36 

Nankeen  Mill 18,  58 


101 


Narragansett  Mills 32,  40 

Narragansett  Steamship  Co.  35 

National  Union  Bank 48,  75 

Naval  Brigade 42,  43 

N.  B.  Borden  School 31 

Newport,  railroad  to 30 

Newport,  steamer 35 

News,  Daily  5 

Newspapers   5 

New  York  steamers 24,  34,  35 

Nimrod,  schooner 67 

North  Burial  Ground 18 

North  Christian  Church 86 

North  Main  street  widened 32 

North  Park 39,45 

North  Watuppa  pond 1 

Notre  Dame  Church 85 

Oak  Grove  Cemetery 26 

Old  Colony  Steamboat  Co 35 

Old  Colony,  steamer ...    . . ." 24,  35 

Osborn  Mills 32 

Osborn  School 41 

Panic  of  1857 27 

Park  Commission 45 

Parks 4,  31,  33,  39,  45 

Parker  Mills 40 

Parochial  Schools 81 

People's  Co-operative  Bank  ...  .38,  77 

Piano  Manufacturing 67 

Picking  Machinery 57 

Pilgrim  Congregational  Church  ...  85 

Pilgrim  Mills 40 

Playgrounds 50 

Pleasant  street 19,  30,  32 

Plymouth  Colony 6 

Pocasset  Bank 23,  48,  76 

Pocasset  Indians 6 

Pocasset  Mfg.  Co ... .  18,23,58  to  61,78 

Pocasset  purchase 11 

Pocasset  street 19 

Police 24,32,37,42,93 

Police  Commission 43 

Poor  sold  by  auction 16 

Population  3,  13,  15,  16,  18,  19,25,31,37 
39,  43. 

Portuguese  papers .5 

Postoffice 17,  31,  36 


Power,  development  of 71  to  74 

Power  Looms 57 

Primitive  Methcdist  Churches 83 

Print  Cloths,  first 58,  61 

Printing  machines 19,  61 

Providence  Line '.20,  24,  35,  36 

Providence,  steamer 35 

Public  Library 4,  27,  41 

Purchase  street 50 

Quarry  Street  M.  E.  Church 86 

Quequechan 7 

Quequechan  River,  improvement 

of 46,  47 

Quequechan  Mill 61 

Quequeteant 7 

Railroads 25,  30,  34,  41,  43,  63 

Railroad  stations 25,  43 

Reed,  Milton 39 

Reorganized  Church,  L.  D.  S 86 

Reservoir  Commission 42,  46,  47 

Revolution,  history  in 14 

Rhode  Island,  steamer 24 

Richard  Borden  Mfg.  Co 32,  38 

Richard  Borden,  steamer 35 

Robeson  Mills 28 

Robeson's  Print  Works ....  18,  59,  61 

Rock  street 19 

Rolling  Rock 3 

Roman  Catholic  (  nq   oi    ^o    qo  <.r^  «7 
Church r^'  ^1'  ^^'  ^^  ^^^^ 

Ruggles  Park 45 

Sagamore 7 

Sagamore  Mills 32,  38,  40 

Sacred  Heart  Church 85 

Sagkonate 7 

Ste.  Anne's  Church 85 

Ste.  Anne's  Hospital 88 

St.  James'  Church 86 

St.  John's  Church 86 

St.  John's  R.  C.  Chapel 19,  84 

St.  Joseph's  Church 85 

St.  Joseph's  Orphanage 87 

St.  Louis'  Church 85 

St.  Luke's  Church 86 

St.  Mary's  Church 31,  83,  84 

St.  Mathieu's  Church 86 

St.   Patrick's  Church 85 


102 


St.  Paul's  M .  E.  Church 31,  86 

SS.  Peter's  and  Paul  Church 85 

St.  Stephen's  Church 86 

St.  Vincent's  Orphanage 87 

St.  William's  Church 88 

Salvation  Army 88 

Samuel  Watson  School 50 

Sanford  Spinning  Mill 40,  62 

Satinet  Mill 18,  ,58 

Schools 13,  77  to  81 

Seaconnet  Mills 38,  40 

Second  Baptist  Church 82 

Second  National  Bank 31,  48,  76 

Sewers 33 

Shipbuilding ." 65,  66 

Shove  Mills 32,  38,  40 

Six  Score  Acre  Lots 11 

Skeleton  in  Armor 21 

Slade's  Ferry 34 

Slade's  Ferry  Bridge 34 

Slade  Mills    32 

Slade  School 32 

Slater,  Samuel 56,  57 

Sliding  Scale 47,  49 

South  Main  street  widened 32,  39 

South  Park 31,33 

Spanish  War 42 

Spindles  3,  31,  37,  38,  39,  43 

Spring  street 19 

Sprinkling  of  streets 24,  41 

Stafford  Mills 32,  38,  40 

Stage  Lines 17 

Standard  Fabric  Co 40,  68 

Stang,  Bishop 48 

State  of  Maine,  steamer 25 

Stevens  Mfg.  Co 40 

Stocks,  Town 13 

Store  pay 61 

Streetcars 37,  41 

Strike  of  1904 47 

Summerfield  M.  E.  Church 86 

Superior  Court 36 

Superior  Court  House 42 

Tanks,  Water  Department 50 

Tanneries 12 

Teaser,  steamer 66 

Tecumseh 7 


Tecumseh  Mills 28,  38,  40 

Tehticut 6 

Telephone  system  37 

Temperance  societies 87 

Textile  School 48 

Third  Baptist  Church 85 

Thorfinn 6 

Tiverton  Print  Works 55 

Toll   Roads 30 

Tory  sentiment 14 

Town  Clock 19 

Town  Hearse 18 

Town  House 21,22 

Town  Meeting,  first 16 

Town  stocks 13 

Training  School 81 

Trinity  Baptist  Church 85 

Troy  Co-operative  Bank 38,77 

Troy  C.  &  W.  Manufactory  18,  55  to 
58,.  63,  69,  71 

Troy,  name,  1804-34 16 

Trust  Company 75,76 

Turnpikes 30 

Union  Cotton  Factory 54,  55,  58 

Union  Hospital 88 

Union  Mill  Co 28,  40,  72 

Union  Savings  Bank 31,  48,  75,  77 

Union  street 19 

Unitarian  Church 19,  78,  83 

United  Presbyterian  Church.  .  .31,  85 

United  States,  steamer 66 

Valuation 5,  17,  25,  31,  39,  43 

Verazzano 6 

Wages  in  early  mills 57,60 

Wampanoag  Indians 6 

Wampanoag  Mills 32 

Wamsutta 6 

Wamsutta  Bank 31,  76 

Wamsutta  Woolen  Mill 72 

War  of  1812 17 

Warren,  railroad  to 30 

Washington  street 19 

Wash  wheels 21  • 

Water  Lily,  steamer 66 

Water  Power 12,  71 

Water  Works 33,  50 

Watuppa 7 


103 


Watuppa  Mill 18,59 

Watuppa  Reservoir  Co 68  to  71 

Weetamoe 6 

Weetamoe  Mills 32,  40 

Weetamoe,  steamer 34 

Westall  School 50 

Whaling 25,  68 

White  Mill 18,  58 

William  J.  Wiley  School 50 


William  Connell  School 42 

William  Marvel,  steamer .67 

William  S.  Greene  School 50 

Women's  Union 87 

Wood  slide 20 

Wyoming  Mills. 23 

Yellow  Mill 58 

Young  American,  steamer 66 

Y.  M.  C.  A 87 


104 


1811 


1911 


MERCHANTS— MANUFACTTTRERS 

COTTON  CENTENNIAL  CARNIVAL 

ONE  HUNDREDTH  ANNIVERSARY  CELEBRATION  OF  THE 
BUILDING  OF  THE  FIRST  COTTON   MILL   IN  FALL  RIVER 

\V  ]<]EK  OF  JUNE    19-24,  1911 


MONDAY. 


MANUFACTURERS  DAY. 


2.30  P.M.     Crowning  of  the   Queen  of  the  Carnival  at 

City  Hall  by  Mayor  T.  F.  Higgins. 
4.00  Opening: 

Manufacturers  Exposition,  State  Armory. 

Art  Exhibit,  Public  Library. 

Cotton  Manufacturing,   Bradford  Durfee 

Textile  School. 
Historical  Exhibit,  Music  Hall. 

TUESDA  Y.  A  UTOMOBILE  DA  Y. 

3.00  Automobile  Parade. 

8.00  Fireworks  Display  at  South  Park, 

WEDNESDAY.     FALL  RIVER  DAY. 
3.00  Trades  Parade. 

TH  URSDA  Y.         MERCHANTS  DA  Y. 
1.00  Horse  Show,  North  Park. 

8.00  Grand  Carnival  Parade. 

FRIDA  Y.  PRESIDENT'S  DA  Y. 

1.00  President  Taft  will  visit  the  city. 

Evening.    Grand  Confetti  Carnival. 

SA  TURD  A  Y.         A  VIA  TION  DA  Y. 
Water  Carnival  on  Mount  Hope  Bay. 
Hydro-aeroplane  Exhibition  by  Glenn  H.  Curtiss. 

105 


As  a  part  of  the  observance  of  the  centennial,  a  notable 
exhibit  of  the  products  of  the  various  industries  of  the  city 
has  been  arranged  in  the  State  Armory.  The  great  drill  hall 
has  been  most  attractively  decorated  in  blue,  completely 
hiding  the  roof,  and  the  same  color  has  been  used  in  the 
various  booths,  which  are  adorned  with  branches  and  oak 
leaves.  In  addition  to  the  products  themselves  the  processes 
of  manufacture  are  illustrated  in  many  cases  by  machinery  in 
operation,  showing  the  methods  used  in  the  making  of  hats, 
pianos,  card  clothing,  the  printing  of  calico,  the  fringing  of 
quilts,  as  well  as  in  the  weaving  of  cloth  on  the  most  modern 
looms,  etc. 

The  processes  of  cotton  manufacturing  are  chiefly  shown 
in  the  textile  school  near  the  armory,  where  machinery  of  the 
same  type  as  that  used  in  the  mills  of  the  city,  is  in  operation. 
In  the  same  building  is  also  shown  the  work  of  the  students 
of  the  school  produced  from  this  machinery. 

An  excellent  art  exhibit  of  pictures  loaned  by  citizens  has 
been  arranged  in  the  public  library  and  also  a  display  of  work 
prepared  in  the  public  schools. 

In  Music  Hall  is  an  interesting  historical  exhibit. 


106 


University  of  California 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

305  De  Neve  Drive  -  Parking  Lot  17  •  Box  951388 

LOS  ANGELES,  CALIFORNIA  90095-1388 

Return  this  material  to  the  library  from  which  it  was  borrowed. 


UNI 

SAf 


Series  9482 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


AA    000  877  077    8 


